Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles
by RinneTaicho
Summary: Naruto ends the Eye of the Moon Plan, but in so doing, he gains the curse of immortality, and wanders the earth for millennia. Now, he is drawn back to the place where Konoha once stood, Karakura town. He will help a young heroine fight the overwhelming odds, and perhaps, become mortal once more. Naruto/FemIchigo, Sekirei elements, slightly bigger summary inside.
1. The Immortal Son Returns

**Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles**

**AN/ Alright , how's it going? My name is RinneTaicho, and this is my first fanfiction. Now be warned, those who dislike the cliché plot of Naruto being an immortal who has wandered the earth since the fall of shinobi, this is that kind of story. I say it beats dimension hop, that just doesn't seem to work for Bleach in my opinion, Percy Jackson books, maybe. Also, from the summary I assume you know the pairing is Naruto/FemIchigo, this will not change, and I am currently not leaning towards a harem. **

**You should also note, that there will be just slight elements of Sekirei in this, namely Fem-Ichigo's appearance and name are based off a Sekirei character, as is Naruto's Zanpakutō spirit and Zanpakutō name. As of yet, those are the only elements I plan on having of Sekirei in this fic.**

**Now you don't want to hear me ramble, so I'll get straight to the point with a summary before jumping right into the fanfic. **

**Over five thousand years ago, Naruto managed to stop the Eye of the Moon Plan by sealing the Juubi into himself and later destroying it. However, this has a consequence he had not foreseen, he gains immortality. Unable to die, he is forced to watch as the Shinobi world crumbles, as do the Elemental Nations. After this, he sets off, wandering the earth for millennia, surfacing sometimes in legends and myth. Now after over five thousand years, he finds himself standing once more where Konoha stood five millennia ago, as the start of a new adventure looms.**

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context:_ 'What?'_

Letter/Book/Written text: _What?_

Hollow speech: **"What?"**

Hollow thoughts: **_'What'_**

Remembered Speech: _"What?"_

Zanpakutō Speech: "What?"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or Sekirei, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, and Sakurako Gokurakuin respectively.

**Chapter One: The Immortal Son Returns**

* * *

**_Prologue: _**

_In my travels, I have surfaced in myth and legend. I fought in many legendary battles. History knows me by many names. Among them, Hercules, Jason, Spartacus, and Merlin. But I have only one true name._

_My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am immortal. I have wandered this world since the dawn of what most call the beginning of civilization. Of course, they don't know that long before Mesopotamia was around, another civilization had thrived for thousands of years._

_We wielded a great power, known as chakra. With it, we could distort time and space, and bend the elements to our wills. But not all used this power for good. A psychopath, by the name of Obito, sought to harness the power of a being known as the Juubi to create a 'perfect' world. I managed to stop the plan, and slay the man that helped him to his goal, Madara Uchiha, although I got a rather large surprise before he died. I thought things would get back to being peaceful after that._

_ And for a while, peace reigned. But it would soon become clear it was a calm before the storm._

_Around the same time I realized I wasn't aging, the others started to lose the ability to wield chakra. In desperation, they began turning to technology to make up for the loss of power. This lead to the destruction of our civilization._

_Now, alone, save a few scattered survivors, and standing upon the ruins of my home village. I decided to wipe all evidence of the existence of my people from the face of the earth, lest people meddle in things best left to the sands of time. _

_With nothing more to keep me there, I set off to wander the world. Eventually, the place where our civilization once stood would be repopulated by a few wandering bands of survivors._

_ But the old world was forgotten, as it should be._

_I walked this earth for countless centuries, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations. I witnessed and took part in many things, speaking with philosophers and poets, generals and kings._

_Eventually, I receded from directly affecting the world. That was when I became aware of the beings who served as sheppard's to the afterlife. They intrigued me, and held my attention for the past millennia and a half._

_Now, I stand in an airport in Karakura Town, where Konoha stood five thousand years ago. After so many years of being away, I feel a pull to this place once more. _

_If there is anything I've learned in my life, it's that my instincts shouldn't be ignored, and this is one I have felt before. Something big is about to begin._

_I sense new enemies on the horizon. Perhaps it's time that I rejoin the world._

**-Karakura Airport-**

The wind swept through the air in a gentle breeze, whipping a lock of blond hair in the air as a Naruto emerged from the doors of the Karakura airport.

The Uzumaki stood at a height of about five foot eleven, with a muscular yet slim build often found on a fighter. His skin was somewhere in-between pale and tan, and his eyes were a piercing blue. On his face very faint whisker marks could be seen on either side. His eyes were just slightly narrow, and his spiky hair was long, reaching almost to his shoulder blades in the back, with bangs framing his face to just below his chin, and partially obscuring his right eye.

The blond was wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans with black high top sneakers and a black and green leather jacket, with the green covering the sleeves, shoulders, and inside of the collar, and padding on the shoulders and upper sleeves. He had a large army green duffel bag, slung casually over his shoulder as he studied the street before him.

_'Karakura Town. It's been five thousand years, no wonder I don't recognize anything. It's hard to believe that once, this bustling city of concrete, metal, and glass, was a large village surrounded by massive trees and nature.' _ Naruto thought to himself.

It was midday, and the sun was beating down upon him warmly as a pleasant breeze swept across his face, bringing the scent of Sakura trees with it.

"I suppose I should find somewhere to stay. The question is, which Identity will I be using?" Naruto said to himself as he took out a wallet, which bulged with ID and credit cards.

He gained a smirk as his eyes locked onto a particular ID.

"The original is always a sure way to go." He said with a smirk.

It was only a few hours later that he walked out of a real-estate office, carrying a set of keys to his new condo, paid off in full.

Immortality had its perks, like accruing enough wealth to buy Japan two times over.

As he walked leisurely towards his new home, Naruto's eyes flicked to a rooftop to the left.

_'Huh..guess I didn't hide my signature as well as I thought I did.' _Naruto thought to himself as he sensed two reiatsu signatures on the rooftop, no doubt watching him.

_'Best I don't make it disappear, that would let them know that I know they're watching.'_ Naruto concluded, as he continued on to his condo.

* * *

**-On the rooftop-**

A man with messy blond hair stood on top of the rooftop next to a black cat. The man wore a matching green top and pants, and a brown coat with a white diamond pattern along the bottom over top. His hair was covered by a green and white striped hat, and he wore getta sandals. In his hand was a cane.

Both he and the feline gazed down at the blond haired man below in curiosity.

"Well this is interesting. I barely sensed it at first, but now that I'm up close...I can tell he has a large amount of reiryoku, and he has decent control of it, seeing as I almost didn't catch it." The man spoke in a lazy tone.

The cat nodded in agreement before speaking.

"It's surprising indeed. You think he's a Soul Reaper, Kisuke?" The cat asked in a male tone.

Kisuke seemed to consider this for a second before he spoke.

"I'm not sure. He certainly has more reiryoku than a human, but I've built enough gigai in my time to tell when someone's using one, and he isn't. Yet still...his reiatsu signature definitely _feels_ like a soul reaper. I'd say he warrants observing." Kisuke answered.

The cats tail flicked back and forth before it replied.

"You think he'll be useful against Aizen?" The cat asked in a tone that said it knew the answer.

This earned a chuckle from the blond man.

"You know me too well Yoruichi. Be a dear and tail him, I know you will whether I ask or not." Kisuke replied.

Yoruichi purred in agreement before turning to begin walking away.

_'Things are going to get interesting soon.'_ Kisuke thought to himself as Naruto disappeared around the corner.

* * *

**-Naruto's condo, the next day-**

_"You will be needed again one day. I hope that you are ready when the time comes my grandson." _

Naruto sat up with a jolt in the bed he had just recently unsealed inside his new condo. He had fallen asleep after moving everything in, jet lag finally catching up with him.

"It's been so long since I've had that dream...why now?" Naruto asked himself as he recollected his dream.

It wasn't really a dream, but a memory. One that haunted him for over two centuries after it happened. He had eventually made peace with it, or so he thought.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, Naruto looked at the clock on his nightstand, to see that it was 7:00 a.m., which meant he would need to get ready.

He had a lot to do today. First, he needed to enroll in a school, because this identity said he was fifteen, meaning he should be in high school. It was best to keep up appearances, that's how he remained hidden. Then, he'd have to get the lay of the land, as it were, by exploring the city.

That brought him to the last item of the day. He pulled the duffel bag out from under his bed. Unzipping it, he reached in, moving aside scrolls of varying ages, and pouches containing unknown objects, and finally pulled out a long object that was wrapped in a bundle of cloth that was tied shut by two pieces of string.

He re-zipped the duffel bag, then undid the two strings, pushing the cloth aside to reveal a sheathed katana. The katana had a rectangular bronze guard, with a mirroring design at both ends, of a yin-yang symbol surrounded on both sides by two inward-facing tomoe. The hilt-cloth was black, with the sharkskin of the grip being white. The sheath was black and plain.

Naruto stared at the blade for a few moments, apparently deep in thought. Finally, he unsheathed it in a flash, bringing it so that the blade was held in front of his eyes, pointing to the ceiling as the flat side reflected his face in its shiny surface.

To the mundane eye it didn't look like anything was wrong, in fact, it looked perfect. However, Naruto's eyes were anything but mundane.

Without a word, his irises changed to a bloody red as the pupil shrank and three black tomoe marks spun around the pupil. Now the katana had a blue glow emanating from within it. Only there was a problem. There were cracks evident along the blade.

_'And last but not least, I think it's time I got a true Zanpakutō. This katana created with chakra is almost at its limit. Well, we always knew it would only last so long. Hopefully we can find one of those 'Asauchi' in this town. It might be the reason we felt the pull here, eh?'_ Naruto thought, apparently to himself.

However, inside his mind, a feminine voice replied.

_'I'm sure of it Naruto-kun. Then you can finally use my full power. And I'll get to cut more than those little small-fry hollows!'_ The voice answered in a seductive/bloodthirsty tone.

The thought of killing hollows.

Naruto could only shake his head in response to the voice.

* * *

**-Later, Naruto's Condo-**

Naruto laid staring up at his ceiling in the darkened room, spread out on his king-sized bed, with his Zanpakutō leaning against the side of the bed.

_'Well, I struck out on finding an Asauchi today. Although it's not like I expected to find one just lying around. Hmm, maybe the ones who have been following me might be able to help?'_ Naruto mused as he released a sigh.

Naruto had sensed one of the signatures, that he first noticed yesterday, had been following him throughout the day. It was amusing to him, as he imagined they must have been incredibly bored.

Before he could ponder much more on this, he suddenly sensed the spiritual pressure in distance.

"One of those beasts. And it's chasing something. _What do you say, time to hunt again?_" Naruto mumbled to himself, the last part being in his mind.

_'I thought you'd never ask. It's been so long since I tasted blood!'_ The almost seductive feminine voice of his Zanpakutō answered back in his mind, bloodlust oozing at the prospect of a fight.

The blond quickly slung his legs over the side of his king sized bed, and opened the drawer on his bedside cabinet, reaching in to pull something out.

He extracted a bundle of clothes, including a long brown coat.

In a matter of moments he was dressed in the clothes. A black, thin, long-sleeve hooded shirt, with a long suede brown coat that fell to his ankles. He wore black pants, and black leather shoes. His katana was concealed inside the coat.

"It's been a while since I went hunting." He said as he pulled the hood up. His face above his nose was cast into shadow.

With that, he vanished silently in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

**-With Uzume, the day before**-

Uzume Kurosaki was not a normal teenager. Because as long as she could remember, she could see the souls of the dearly departed Which is why she was currently walking with a vase of flowers clutched in her hand. It was for the spirit of a little girl she had stood up for yesterday, by beating down the punks that knocked over the vase that was already there. They had turn tail and ran real quick when met with 'surly' Kurosaki.

Really, she just enjoyed seeing how nervous people got with her intimidating act. It was funny seeing senior boys that towered over her nearly wet their pants when she turned her icy scowl on them. Of course, it also had to do with needing to make sure they didn't get any funny ideas; because, Uzume was a beautiful young woman.

She was relatively tall for a woman, standing at a height of five foot five. And her facial features could be described as angelic, with a heart shape and a perfect nose, with big chocolate-brown eyes. Her hair was long and bright orange, the color of a sunset, which she wore some in a side ponytail, while the rest cascaded down to the bottom of her shoulder blades, with bangs framing her face, and falling between her eyes. She also had an impressive figure as well, being toned and curvy beyond her year. She was a well-endowed young woman, with a bust that beat Orihime Inoue, and a slim stomach, that led to flaring hips and a backside that many boys gotten beaten down for staring at.

Over all, she was one of the most desired girls of her year. Of course there were those who _attempted_ to bully her for her hair color, thinking it unnatural. They were quickly set straight when introduced to riotous feminine fury.

She wore the standard uniform for girls at her school, a white shirt that, in her case, emphasized her rather well-endowed chest; with a red bow tie, and a grey skirt, with calf length white socks and brown leather shoes.

Uzume sighed as she looked at her watch, she was going to be late. That meant one thing

**-Kurosaki House-**

"Hey guys I'm home, sorry I'm late, there was this-" She began, only to be cut off by someone launching themselves at her with their foot extended in a jump kick.

"Uzummmmeeee! Yooouuu'rree lllaate!" It yelled in a male voice.

It was a black haired man, with a goatee and crazy eyes, dressed in black pants and a weird shirt and white lab coat.

_'Here we go again.'_ Uzume thought, stepping to the side and bringing her leg up at the last second in a snap kick, landing it firmly in the man's ribs, launching him backwards into the wall across the room.

"Good reflexes sweat-heart." The man groaned out from his position, slumped upside down against the wall.

Uzume huffed in annoyance. That was her father, Isshin Kurosaki. He was an extremely strange man. He acted like a little kid. And he had a bad habit of attacking her out of nowhere, to 'toughen her up' as he put it.

After all, he didn't want any boys messing with his 'biggest princess'.

"Jeez you think you'd learn you goat-faced idiot. And what kind of father greets his oldest daughter by attacking her because she's late from risking her life helping a spirit find peace!" She growled.

Miraculously, Isshin was up and pressing his forehead against hers as they glared at each-other almost comically.

"Oh so it's the ghosts fault is it? And I suppose the 'Ghosts' left your room a mess. When Are ya gonna take some responsibility?" He growled as they began a barrage of martial arts.

"I'll show you responsibility, I'll be responsible for putting you in the hospital!" Uzume shot back through gritted teeth.

Off to the side, two girls of about eleven watched, one in apathy, the other in worry.

"Here they go again. It's like this every night." The one watching in apathy said in a bored tone.

Th girl had a decidedly tomboy appearance. She had chin-length black hair, and had an apparently permanent apathetic expression. She also wore what appeared to be soccer clothes, with a blue shirt with black sleeves and a red outline on the collar, and black shorts.

The other was a girl with short brown hair, and a more feminine appearance, with a short-sleeved hoodie and an apron on.

"Hey you two, stop fighting! Come eat your dinner." The brown haired girl cried worriedly.

"Let 'em fight Yuzu,. More rice for me." The black haired girl said, holding out a bowl of rice.

Yuzu looked at the other girl with a pout.

"That's not very nice Karin." She said.

At that moment, the fight concluded, with Isshin going for a punch, which Uzume ducked, while bringing her leg up in a devastating kick between the legs.

"Oof-" Isshin moaned as he sank to the ground, holding his manhood.

"Jeez, for any normal high school kid, a seven o'clock curfew is totally un-cool, goat-face!" Uzume complained as she pointed down at her collapsed father.

Seeing the fight over, Karin spoke to her sister.

"Uzume, speaking of un-cool, you got a new one." She said, even as a bespectacled man floated into existence behind the eldest sister.

"What do you want, go away! Get outta here you pest! " Uzume said in frustration as she swatted at the spirit.

"Poor Uzume, Dad or spirits, it's always something." Karin muttered.

"I think she's lucky, I sort of sense their presence, but that's about it!" Yuzu said in a chipper tone.

"I don't see the big deal in ghosts, I don't even believe in them." Said Karin.

At this, Yuzu looked shocked.

"I don't believe you could say something like that, I thought you could see ghosts too." She exclaimed.

"I'm in permanent denial. Seeing them doesn't make me believe in them." Karin replied.

Uzume had begun paying attention to her sisters conversation, but she sensed her father getting up.

"Ya dropped your guard again!" He cried as he attempted to knock her legs out from under her.

Try being the operative word, because she simply lept over him, and landed with her feet in his face.

"Whatever, I'm not hungry, I'm going to bed." She said as she stepped off her father's face.

She was far to stressed to deal with him now.

Yuzu looked worried as she tried calling out to her sister.

"Uzume wait, come back and eat!" She called.

On the floor, Isshin let out a 'Huh?' as he saw his daughters retreating form.

"Way to go, you sure got a way with kids don't you?" Karin deadpanned sarcastically.

Her father looked askance as he shrunk in on himself.

"Me, what'd I do?" Isshin asked.

"Uzume's been having a rough time lately." Yuzu answered.

"Yeah, she's been seeing more and more spirits." Karin added.

Isshin seemed to puff up at this.

"What? Why would she talk about these things with you two instead of coming to talk to her own dad? It doesn't make any sense!" Isshin said in confusion.

"Sure it does, for one thing your over forty. For another, emotionally you're still at a preschool level. Admit it dad." Karin said with her back to him as she sat backwards on her chair.

Isshin began crying as he pressed his face to a poster that took up most of the wall in the kitchen. It was of a smiling orange-haired woman, and had the caption 'Masaki Forever' up above her.

"Oh Masaki-chan! Maybe it's because they're hitting puberty, but our youngest daughters are being so cold to me! What do I do, what do I do?" He wailed.

"For starters you might want to take down that poster." Karin answered in annoyance.

* * *

**-The next day-**

Uzume was on her way to drop off another vase of flowers for the little girl spirit.

She was deep in thought, because she had just seen a news report about some explosion near her house. It was strange. Because the damage didn't _look_ like an explosion. In fact, it looked like something had made gouges in the side of the building.

Finally she arrived at the corner, and placed the flowers on the ground, expecting to see the spirit girl appear, she looked around; only to find no spirit girl.

"Hello? Are you there?" She called out, hoping to get the spirits attention.

As she was standing on the corner, calling continually for the spirit, she was suddenly struck by an unexplainable feeling of danger.

That's when she heard a faint roar around the corner. It sounded like some kind of monster.

Instantly, she took off in the direction of the roar, something telling her it had something to do with the little girl spirit being missing.

She hurtled around the corner, coming on to a much busier street. At first all she saw was people running in all directions, and dust in the air.

"What in the hell is goin on?" She wondered aloud. That was when the dust cleared.

She had been right, it was a monster, a massive black beast, almost half as tall as the buildings, that had a white mask and scythe-like forelimbs, and an insectoid body, making it look like a monstrous praying mantis. The most distinct thing was the giant hole in its chest.

The street had started to get torn up by its scythe-like limbs.

Then, out of the dust ran the little girl spirit with the chain emerging from her chest.

"Help me!" She screamed.

Not needing much prodding, Uzume turned and began to run alongside the girl.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Uzume yelled.

Everyone was screaming, and running in random directions. The air was filled with the deafening roars of the monster.

The girl, slightly out of breath, spoke as another roar was let loose.

"What is that thing?" She asked.

Uzume delayed answering, focused on running.

"I don't know, but we gotta get away!" She shouted

Not a few seconds after she said that, the little girl tripped with a shriek.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Uzume urged anxiously, as the beast drew nearer.

It was headed right for them.

Her chocolate colored eyes had just enough time to go wide in shock, expecting her end to come any second, only for a black robed person launched them self at the monster, a spray of blood releasing from its mouth as a katana slashed it.

Absently, Uzume noticed a black butterfly flying gently by.

The person landed on the street as the beast reared its head,, preparing to attack again.

The person was a black haired little girl, maybe just barely Uzume's age at most, judging by the appearance. She wore black samurai-like clothes, and held a katana in her hands.

Before the creature could strike, the girl launched herself at it, cleaving it in two with her katana, leaving it to disintegrate as she landed lightly on the ground right in front of Uzume and the spirit girl.

She seemed to pay them no mind, as she gazed into the distance for a moment, before taking off in a blur once more.

Uzume was left with but one thought.

_'What the hell is going on?'_

* * *

Uzume stared up at the giant beast before her. It was more humanoid than the last one.

Off to the side, the soul reaper lay bleeding from a shoulder wound.

Soul Reaper. It was strange, an hour ago, she wouldn't have believed in something like a soul reaper. But now, it was hard not to.

Over the past hour, she learned of a place called the soul society, and Soul Reapers, who helped souls on to the afterlife. They also killed demons like the one before her. They were called hollows.

Over near the house, her little sister Karin lay on the ground as well.

This was all her fault. The hollow came for her, but attacked her family instead. Now, the soul reaper, their only hope, was injured.

"Fool! Did you honestly think you would be a match for it? Did you think it would stop with you? It won't! A single soul won't satisfy it for long. If you don't stop interfering, we'll end up as its food!" The soul reaper shouted at her.

The soul reaper attempted to stand, stumbling slightly as she walked over to a wall to lean against.

"It's no good. I'm too injured to fight. You there! Do you want to save your family?" The soul reaper said, looking directly at Uzume with her face scrunched in pain.

Without hesitation Uzume answered.

"Of course, just tell me what I have to do, Soul Reaper!" Uzume answered.

"You must take my blade and use it to pierce the center of you being. My power will flood into you, and you will become a Soul Reaper for a short time." The soul reaper explained.

Then she seemed to get annoyed.

"And I have a name!"

Uzume nodded as she approached the soul reaper, and grabbed a hold of her katana.

"What's your name soul reaper?" Uzume asked.

"It's Rukia, Rukia Kuchiki." Rukia replied with a slight smile.

"Well Rukia Kuchiki, my name is, Uzume Kurosaki!" Uzume replied as she plunged the sword into her chest.

There was a bright flash of light, that forced Rukia's eyes to become slits.

When it dissipated, Uzume was dressed differently. She now wore a soul reapers attire, and she had a gigantic brown sheath attached to her back.

The reason was made evident by the giant katana she wielded in her hands. It was as long as her body, and appeared to be a larger version of the blade Rukia used, with the same red hilt cloth and flame-like designs on the guard.

Uzume glared at the hollow that dared attack her family. The chilly night air nipping at her skin went unnoticed as the area seemed to become silent.

"Come feel my blade, you hollow bastard! I'll show you what happens when you mess with _my _family!" She yelled as she gave a battle cry, charging the beast.

It was over in an instant. She sliced the hollow in half with one swing of her giant katana, with Rukia looking on in shock. She now wore a plain white kimono.

_'She took nearly all my powers, I only meant to give her half. And I've never seen anyone wield such a massive Zanpakutō!' _Rukia thought.

Uzume swung the sword around and sheathed it on her back after she saw the hollow disintegrate. She suddenly felt the fatigue of her actions, falling backwards onto her rear with a satisfied smile.

That smile was shared by Rukia's. But their smiles disappeared when they heard and saw something that chilled their bones.

**"Wrrraaaarrrrr!"** The roar of a hollow echoed throughout the area. The source was obvious.

Right in front of their eyes, a portal opened, with a hollow emerging from it. This hollow had a slightly rabbit-like appearance to it, and was just as big as the last one.

"Th-this is bad. I could barely handle the first one." Uzume uttered in fear.

From her place slumped against the wall, Rukia took a sharp intake of breath.

"And it's not alone, look!" She cried.

Uzume's eyes widened as she saw four more portals opening behind the first hollow, admitting four more hollows of similar size.

"What are we going to do?" Uzume gasped in dread.

An icy feeling gripped her heart, making it hard to breath. She had barely beaten one of them, and she was now exhausted. How could they survive?

Rukia was having similar thoughts. In all her years, she'd never faced so many hollows _this_ strong. There was no way they could survive.

Just as the feelings of despair were beginning to become suffocating, a male voice rang out loud and clear in the night, attracting the attention of both the Soul Reapers and the hollows.

"My my my, five hollows against two exhausted girls. What's the matter beasts? Did your mothers never teach you it isn't _polite_ to gang up on people, especially a lady?" A strong male voice asked from one of the rooftops..

Uzume and Rukia whipped their heads towards the voice. Their gazes landed upon a figure stood on a rooftop not far from the Kurosaki house. He, for the voice was male, was dressed in a black hooded top, with black pants and leather shoes, and a long brown suede coat. He held a Zanpakutō in his hand.

"That's a Zanpakutō, but there are no other Soul Reapers here." Rukia gasped to herself, with Uzume hearing her.

"Then who is he?" She asked, struggling to stay awake.

Rukia never took her eyes from the man as she replied.

"I don't know, but it would appear he's on our side." Rukia answered.

The last thing Uzume saw was the man appear before her in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

**-With Naruto, after he left his condo-**

Naruto appeared in a swirl of leaves atop a roof near where he sensed the energy.

He was met with a strange sight.

On the ground, one girl lay bleeding, while another stood in front of a hollow. The first was in a white kimono, and the second was dressed as a soul reaper, and wielded a giant Zanpakutō. In front of them was a hollow, presumably the one he had sensed.

The first girl was pretty, but a little young in appearance, maybe thirteen or fourteen. She had black hair that went to her shoulders with a bang hanging between her eyes, which were big and violet colored.

The second girl, however, was a world class beauty that could most likely make a super model jealous. She had a slim figure, with generous curves, and a well-endowed chest. Her hair was long, and orange, like a sunset. Some of it was held in a side ponytail, while the rest fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades.

From the appearance and feel of the white-wearing girl, she was a soul reaper, but her powers were almost gone. In contrast, the orange-haired girl was obviously human, and it appeared that the powers she had were from the other girl/ But he could feel a power of her own lying underneath the surface.

Which meant she had Soul Reaper powers from the beginning.

"Huh. Don't see that every day. Maybe I won't be needed after all." He said to himself.

Just as he said this, the girl launched herself forward. In a second the hollow was dealt with.

The girl sheathed her katana. At the same time, he sensed the two signatures he noticed the day before, appear behind him.

He was about to leave, thinking he wasn't needed, when he noticed something that was very strange. Another portal was opening.

That's when the first hollow emerged, followed by the other four. He tensed as he heard the girls panicked whispers.

"They might need me after all." He said to himself.

"I guess our conversation must wait. I'll be glad to speak to you when this is over." Naruto said, not even turning to look at the two behind him.

With this, he drew his Zanpakutō, holding it one handed, so it stuck outwards towards the ground.

When next he spoke, it was loud enough for the occupants of the street to hear.

"My my my, five hollows against two exhausted girls. What's the matter beasts? Did your mothers never teach you it isn't_ polite _to gang up on people, especially a lady." He called loudly, attracting the attention of all on the street.

"You made a mistake coming here. It will cost you your lives, for my Zanpakutō thirsts for your blood."

In an instant, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, only to reappear in front of the lead hollow.

The next second he was swinging his blade through the air, slicing into the lead hollow, cutting it in half diagonally.

The top slid slowly off as the beast began to disintegrate. The blood flew through the air.

Without batting an eye, he rushed forward and began dancing in and out of the hollows, severing limbs and bisecting them with the easiest of swings.

Their clumsy retaliations were useless against him, because he was too fast, too strong, his blade was too sharp.

In a matter of moments, the hollows were all lying in pieces as they disintegrated.

For a moment, Naruto stood still. Then slowly, cracks began to appear along its length. Soon enough, it shattered completely.

He stared at it a moment, before dropping the hilt with a sigh.

* * *

Back on the roof, Kisuke and Yoruichi watched with wide eyes as the hooded blonde disappeared.

"He knew we were here?" Yoruichi asked incredulously.

Kisuke had come here to see Rukia about helping her find a gigai. Yoruichi, meanwhile, had been following Naruto here. But they both had been curious to see what drew Naruto here.

Kisuke whipped out his fan as he nodded.

"It would appear so. And it would also appear, he's as eager to speak to us as we are to speak to him." Kisuke observed .

Both cat and man walked to the place Naruto had previously occupied. They were just in time to see him appear in front of the girls, and begin cutting the hollows to pieces.

"Well, now we know he at least has soul reaper powers, because that is most certainly a Zanpakutō, although I feel there's something _off_ about it."Yoruichi commented in 'its' male voice.

Kisuke nodded with a hum as he saw Naruto come to a stop, while the hollows slowly dissolved.

That's when the cracks started to form on the blade as it glowed slightly blue.

"That's odd. I've never seen something like that. I guess you were right. There _is _something off with that blade." He said as the blade shattered.

From there, Naruto dropped the hilt on the ground.

"It's almost as if he was waiting for that to happen." Yoruichi said.

Kisuke nodded in agreement. With a nod to each other, they vanished, to reappear behind Naruto.

* * *

Naruto sensed as the two signatures from the roof appeared behind him.

"Now that's unfortunate. But you _do_ know that Zanpakutō's can be repaired, don't you?" A male voice questioned from behind him in a cheerful tone.

Naruto turned around to look at the man who spoke. He had scruffy light blond hair, and stubble. He wore a matching green shirt and pants, with a dark brown, almost black, haori, with a diamond pattern. On his head he wore a green-and-white-striped hat. Finally, on his feet he wore geta sandals, like his old sensei did.

Naruto gave a slight chuckle at the question, and the goofy facade the man put on, with the fan in front of his face.

"That would require that it was an actual Zanpakutō to begin with. That-," He said, indicating the hilt.

"-is a pseudo-Zanpakutō I made to channel my Zanpakutō spirit into. I have as yet to lay my hands on an actual Asauchi." Naruto explained.

Kisuke hid his shock at this statement. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing. But it would explain why the blade shattered. If it wasn't a true Zanpakutō, then it would not be able to handle the power of a Zanpakutō spirit.

Before their conversation could continue, they were interrupted by a pained voice.

"Wh-what's going on here? Who _are _you people?" Asked Rukia.

The past few minutes were extremely confusing. First, five hollows appeared, and she thought that the Kurosaki's and her were dead for sure. Then, the man in the long brown coat arrived, and saved them, by using a Zanpakutō, only for it to shatter.

Now, the other man, and a _cat_ of all things, appeared. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but she would find out.

Naruto looked over at the small soul reaper with a teasing smile.

"Oh, I almost forgot about you, little Soul Reaper, I didn't know they allowed children to become Soul Reapers." He said in a cheeky tone.

Despite her pain, Rukia's cheeks puffed up in anger.

"I am _not_ a little girl! Besides, you look human, the same age as that girl in fact. Obviously you can't comprehend how long soul reapers live, otherwise, you wouldn't assume I'm as young as I appear." She protested rudely.

Naruto lost his smile as his face became blank. Crouching down in front of Rukia, hood still obscuring his features, he spoke in a serious tone.

"Listen here, _little girl_; it's _you_ that has no comprehension. I may appear young, and I may be human. But I am _far_ older than you can even _begin_ to grasp." He said in a dark tone.

He knew it wasn't her fault, but that girl had hit a nerve, one far bigger than she intended. Naruto may have gotten the chance to see more things than nearly anyone else, but it came at a price. All his loved ones had aged and died, while he could only watch. He'd buried countless friends; and before he learned better, lovers.

He considered his immortality as much a curse as it was a gift.

Standing up, he spoke to the other blond.

"For some reason, I get the feeling you didn't come to talk to me. We'll speak later." The immortal shinobi stated, vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Kisuke whistled appreciatively as he looked at the leaves.

"He sure knows how to make an exit." He said cheerily.

He then turned to Rukia.

"As for who _I _am, my name is Kisuke Urahara, a humble shopkeeper. And I've come to offer my services. You seem to be in need of a gigai, I could provide one cheap." He declared.

Rukia could only gape, both at the strange hooded mans reaction, and at the 'shop keeper'.

* * *

**Chapter End**

**AN/ So, what did you think? Please leave a review, tell me your thoughts and opinions on the story. But please, DO NOT flame. I welcome constructive criticism, but I have little tolerance for people who flame, because half the time it is a pointless rant about how the story is stupid because 'they don't like' the main pairing, or something similar.**

**I welcome advice on the situation of whether it should be a harem, and i welcome questions about the plot as well, although I won't promise to answer every question.**

**Finally, I don't know how often I will be able to update. I'm in college, and will mostly be doing this in my free time, so it may be slow.**

**In the immortal words of Porky Pig,**

**Th-th-th-that's all, folks!**


	2. New Faces In Karakura High

**Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles  
**

**AN/ Yo party people's, RinneTaicho here, with the second chapter of Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles. **

**So the response to the story seems to be generally good, and I'm shocked at how popular it is after the first chapter, twenty-eight reviews so far!**

**I made some formatting changes in this chapter, that I will be implementing in chapter 1 as well, I'll edit that soon.**

**I also wonder if anyone will get the quote used by Naruto near the end of the chapter. **

**Anyways, here's chapter two, it picks up where the last left off.**

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context:_ 'What?'_

Letter/Book/Written text: _What?_

Hollow speech: **"What?"**

Hollow thoughts: **_'What'_**

Remembered Speech: _"What?"_

Zanpakutō Speech: "What?"

Zanpakutō Thoughts: _'What?'_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or Sekirei, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, and Sakurako Gokurakuin respectively.

**Chapter Two: New Faces In Karakura High**

* * *

**-Later, Urahara Shop-**

Kisuke waved cheerily at the retreating back of Rukia Kuchiki, a grin on his face.

"You have a nice night now, be sure to come back!" He called.

He closed the door after she got out of sight, turning around. He let out a fake girlish scream as he came face to face with the hooded Naruto, who looked rather intimidating with his face blank like when he spoke to Rukia earlier.

"Gah! Don't you know not to sneak up on someone? I could have killed you with my mad kung-fu skills!" Kisuke said, as he made ridiculous kung-fu motions with his arms.

Naruto cracked a smile that was slightly mocking, practically screaming 'oh please'.

"I highly doubt that. Millions have tried to kill me over the years. As of yet, none have succeeded." Naruto replied as he turned and walked towards the back of the shop.

"So, what can I do for you this fine midnight my good sir? Perhaps I could interest you in some sleeping pills?" Kisuke asked in a slightly cheeky tone.

Really, he was curious how Naruto had managed to sneak up on him. He was a former member of the Onmitsukidō(1), and Corps-Commander of the Detention Unit. It was almost impossible to get the drop on him.

Naruto seemed oblivious to these thoughts, and turned around once more.

"I came to speak with you. I'm sure you are as curious about me as I am about Soul Reapers. Perhaps we could answer each other's questions." Naruto suggested.

"Now what makes you think that I would know anything about Soul Reapers? I'm just a humble shopkeeper." The strange shop keep asked.

Naruto just gave him a pointed look that clearly read 'I ain't buying it'.

"Right, umm, this way please." Kisuke said after clearing his throat.

He motioned for Naruto to follow him, leading the hooded immortal through the hallway, and to a room with a table in the center. Kisuke settled himself on one side, while Naruto sat on the other.

"I believe introductions are in order. My name is Kisuke Urahara, humble shop keeper and mad scientist, mwahahaha!." He introduced himself , with a fake evil laugh like a bad movie villain.

Naruto couldn't help but shake his head at the introduction. It was really strange, and sort of reminded him of Jiraiya. But something gave him the nagging feeling this man was way smarter than Jiraiya.

He reached up and pulled down his hood, exposing his face completely.

"And I am Naruto Uzumaki, immortal wanderer." Naruto introduced.

At the last bit, Kisuke seemed to get more serious, as he sat up straighter.

"Immortal you say? That's quite the claim. Lucky for you, I've heard of something similar. Exactly how–" Kisuke began asking, seeming to trail off in the end.

Sensing the question, Naruto answered.

"Old enough to have witnessed the first war between Soul Reapers and the humans who call themselves Quincy's." He replied.

Kisuke sat back at this answer. That made him at least as a thousand and some years old. probably more.

"I see. So, what do you know about Soul Reapers already?" Kisuke asked, adopting a more serious demeanor.

Naruto took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering.

"I know you use the spiritual energy that resides in the body and soul. I also know that you can perform techniques unique to Soul Reapers. Soul Reapers have the duty of escorting souls to the afterlife, and getting rid of hollows, which are corrupted souls. Finally, I know that you wield Zanpakutō, which have two releases, shikai and bankai." Naruto told him.

Kisuke hummed in response. It was more than he expected him to know.

"Now, I would like to hear a more in-depth history of Soul Reapers, as well as more about the techniques Soul Reapers use. Finally I would like to know if it would be possible for you to acquire me an Asauchi." Naruto said.

Kisuke considered the request carefully. Certainly, there was no harm in acquiescing to the first two. It was the last that was an issue. Should he help this immortal stranger get access to a true Zanpakutō?

The answer was obvious. He knew he wanted him as an ally against Aizen, and he knew that he would need him to be as powerful as possible. So he would help him get a true Zanpakutō. But first, he would need to know a little more about him.

"I suppose I could. But before I agree to that last request, I would like to hear _your_ history. It's not every day I meet an immortal human." Kisuke countered.

The more Naruto spoke, especially about his life, the more Kisuke would get a feel for his personality and character.

Naruto thought about it for all of a second. It didn't take him long for him to find out what Kisuke was trying to do. He decided that he'd allow it, after all, in his place, Naruto would most likely do the same. Indeed, he _had_ done the same, multiple times over the millennia.

"That seems acceptable. Now, where should I start? Ah I know, I'll start with my birth, long ago, in a village called Konoha, the Village Hidden In the Leaves. . ." Naruto began.

* * *

**-The Uzume's House, with Uzume-**

The sun was shining in the sky, trickling in through the window of Uzume Kurosaki. All was peaceful.

Until...

"GOOOOD MOOORRNNING, UZUMEEE!"

Uzume's eyes snapped open as she jumped to intercept her father with a heal to the face. He crashed to the floor, with her pressing his face into the carpet with her foot.

Uzume stretched her arms above her head as she yawned, her foot firmly holding her father's head to the ground. She was dressed in her sleeping clothes, a tight T-shirt that exposed her navel, and a pair of tight pajama bottoms that went to just below her knees.

As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she spoke to her father.

"What the hell's your problem goat-face? Attacking me in my sleep." Uzume said in irritation.

Isshin flashed her a double thumbs up.

"You are getting good Sweetheart, there's nothing more to teach you!" He declared.

Uzume was about to tear into him when she remembered the attack last night.

"Wait! What about Karin and Yuzu's injuries?" She asked in concern.

Isshin looked confused at this.

"Injuries?"

* * *

"It's a miracle! A truck crashed into the front of the clinic last night, and none of us got injured!" Isshin cheered.

The entire family was in front of the house, and looking at a huge hole in the front side of the house.

"The real miracle is that none of us woke up. And the driver took off without even apologizing" Karin said.

Uzume could only nod robotically as her mind raced.

_'A truck? They don't remember. This must have something to do with that Soul Reaper, I wonder if she went back to that place, the Soul Society?' _Uzume wondered to herself.

An image of him flashed in her mind. She couldn't see anything above his nose, and she only got a glimpse of his blade before passing out; but she could have sworn it was a Zanpakutō.

_' But who was . . that man? Was he another Soul Reaper?'_ She questioned.

Uzume shook her head of those questions. They couldn't be answered now, so she might as well head to school.

"I'll see you guys later, I gotta go to school."She announced as she waved to her family.

With that she began to head for school, not knowing of the surprise that awaited her there.

* * *

**-Naruto's Condo, with Naruto-**

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Naruto's hand lashed out, smashing the source of the beeping.

Slowly, he raised his head from the pillow with a groan. His hair was even more wild than usual.

He had been up until three o'clock last night, telling Kisuke about his life. Or at least, he gave a vague overview that didn't reveal anything much about himself. Although he _had_ given him quite a bit of information on the Elemental Nations as a whole.

It was only fair, since the man was doing that for him when it came to the Soul Society.

Apparently, Kisuke was thrilled with it. He wanted to see if Naruto could use Soul Reaper techniques. He wondered if Naruto's ability to wield chakra would affect it, or if that was the entire reason he was able to have Soul Reaper powers in the first place.

Of course, Naruto had a sneaking suspicion of why he had Soul Reaper powers. He knew of an encounter that might have led to him gaining the dormant powers.

Involuntarily, his mind recalled the sensation of being stabbed, and all he saw was a pair of intense brown eyes.

He couldn't help but clutch at his chest in remembered pain.

Shaking himself out of his lapse in concentration, Naruto got out of bed, intent on taking a shower and getting dressed. He started school today.

From what Kisuke told him, he would be going to school with one of the girls from last night, the busty orange-haired one. He now knew she was a substitute Soul Reaper.

Within fifteen minutes, Naruto stood in front of his front door, dressed in the uniform of his school, a grey blazer and matching pants, with brown leather shoes. Underneath the blazer, he wore a black dress shirt.

With one last look at his living room, Naruto opened the door and walked out.

* * *

**-Karakura High, with Uzume-**

Uzume walked through the halls of the school with her mind on the events of last night. It was probably why she didn't notice there was someone in her path until she had already bumped into her.

"_Oof_–"

Uzume looked down at the girl on the floor with surprise in her eyes. She was a girl with long orange hair, darker than her own. Sh had curves that bellied her years, although not as much as Uzume's, it was still impressive. She had an innocent face, with wide brownish-grey eyes.

"Oh it's you, Orihime. Sorry, I didn't see you there." She said as she held out a hand to the other girl

"Oh-oh no it's fine, I'm alright!" She said in an excitable tone.

The girl that was standing next to her, with black hair and an regular build for their age, seemed to disagree.

"What, that's all you have to say after bumping into her?" The black haired girl protested.

"Really Tatsuki, I'm alright." Orihime protested lightly.

"Here" Uzume said, offering her hand to the other girl.

"Thanks Kurosaki-chan." Orihime said as she took the proffered hand, allowing Uzume to pull her to her feet.

"Well um, I'll see you later, I have to be somewhere." Orihime said in a hurried tone, turning to rush down the hall.

"What was that about?" Uzume asked Tatsuki, as she watched Orihime rush down the hall.

Tatsuki gained a teasing grin as she replied

"Maybe you're monstrous chest scared her." Tatsuki taunted.

Uzume scoffed as she crossed her arms underneath her bust, pushing it up and making it even more evident, closing her eyes as she gained a superior look on her beautiful face.

"Do I detect jealousy? Are you projecting your own insecurities onto me? Feeling a little flat, eh, Tatsuki-chan?" Uzume asked in a mocking tone.

Tatsuki blushed slightly at the teasing, gaining an annoyed expression.

This wasn't helped when Uzume placed her hand on her head and ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry, you'll grow out of the awkward phase. Then you'll have boobs of your own." Uzume told her in a mock reassuring tone.

Tatsuki growled as she gained a tic-mark on her forehead, knocking away Uzume's hand.

This only drew a round of giggles from Uzume, amused by Tatsuki's reaction. It was a common thing between them. Tatsuki would bring up Uzume's extremely large chest into it, and Uzume would bring up how small Tatsuki's breasts were compared to hers.

Tatsuki shook her head in annoyance before speaking once more.

"Anyways, why're you so late, it's time for lunch already." Tatsuki questioned.

Hearing this, Uzume was reminded of what happened last night.

"Don't worry about it, I'll tell you about it later." Uzume said, waving vaguely to Tatsuki as she continued on to her class.

* * *

**-Uzume's classroom, with Uzume-**

"Uzume, heard a truck crashed into your house last night. Here, let me comfort yoouuu!" A hyper brown-haired boy asked excitably as Uzume took her seat in the classroom, the boy practically flung himself at her.

He was halted by a fist in the face. Uzume felt her eye twitch at the attempt to feel her up.

_'He never quits. And not in a good way.'_ Uzume thought to herself.

"No thanks Keigo. Take a cold shower." She replied, ignoring his ridiculous cries at being turned down.

"So have you got it cleaned up yet?" A black-haired boy asked.

Uzume huffed at that.

"Are you kidding Mizuiro? I think it'll take weeks to do." She complained.

"Need any help?" Asked a deep male voice to her right.

Uzume looked up and her eyes widened as a sweat drop formed on the side of her head.

There was a very tall boy, a true giant of a man, with dark skin and messy brown hair that obscured his right eye. He looked to be of Hispanic decent.

"Uhh, that's alright, we're good." Uzume said nervously, chuckling sheepishly.

"Yeah Chad, you could bring the whole house down." Keigo said as he looked up into the face of the giant.

"Anyways, what do we have next?" Uzume asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Language Lab." Mizuiro replied.

From behind her, Uzume heard a female voice speak to her.

"Hello, you're Uzume, right?"

Uzume turned her head to the voice, curious who it was. When she did, her eyes widened in shock. For standing in front of her, was the Soul Reaper from last night.

"My name is Rukia, I'll be sitting next to you, it's nice to meet you." The petite Soul Reaper greeted

Uzume leapt from her seat and pointed at the girl.

"YOU!" She cried as she pointed her finger at the petite black-haired girl.

"Hey Uzume, what gives?"Keigo asked.

"Do you two know each other?"Questioned Chad.

Rukia giggled in an exaggerated girly fashion.

"Of course not. We've never even met before, right Uzume?" Rukia said politely.

"Rukia's a brand new transfer student." Mizuiro told her as Uzume looked at the Soul Reaper in fright.

How the hell did she find her?

"It's a pleasure to meet you."Rukia told her in a way-too-nice-to-be-real tone.

As she extended her hand to Uzume, Rukia revealed her palm, which had writing on it.

_Make a scene and you are so dead_

Uzume recoiled from the hand, looking at the girl, or demon, in fear.

_'What the hell did i get myself into?'_ She wondered to herself.

* * *

**-Later, after lunch, with Uzume-**

Uzume slumped into her seat in class, with a still falsely chipper Rukia sitting on her left. She had just come back from killing another hollow, and performing Konsō on a little boy spirit. Now, she had to deal with class.

With her chin propped up by her fist, and her posture slumped with her eyes closed; Uzume was ready to go home and reflect on what had happened that day.

Unfortunately -or maybe not so unfortunately, depending on your perspective- it wasn't to be.

"Attention class." Their teacher, Misato Ochi, called from the front of class.

Uzume wearily looked up at the front of class, only to straighten up completely at the sight that greeted her. Standing at the front of class was Ms. Ochi, looking the same as always. She was relatively pretty young woman with glasses and brown hair.

It was the person standing next to her that caught her attention, and caused a slight blush to form on her cheeks, one that seemed to be shared by almost all the girls in class, except for the red-haired Chizuru Honshō, who was drooling over Orihime as usual.

Next to her stood a blond haired boy about their age. He was tall, standing at what she guessed to be just under six foot. His spiky hair was long, reaching the top of his shoulder blades, and bangs framing his face, and partially obscuring his right eye. Speaking of which, his eyes were an intense sapphire color and slightly narrow, and his skin was in between being in-between normal and pale. There were what appeared to be three whisker marks on each of his cheeks. His face was angular and narrow.

Over all, he was probably the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, he's a new student here and is starting today. Naruto-san, please introduce yourself." Ms. Ochi announced.

Naruto nodded in assent, bowing slightly to the class.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Pleased to meet you." He said with a charming smile that caused all the blushes on the faces of the girls to intensify.

All the other guys in the class, save perhaps Chad, were silently sulking at how Naruto had the girls swooning over him with hearts in they're eyes. Keigo in particular seemed put out that the girls took to him right away.

Even Ms. Ochi seemed to have a blush.

Inwardly, Naruto was smirking at their reactions. It never failed. He was more popular with the ladies than even Sasuke had been. Of course the drawback was the ridiculous number of fangirls.

"W-well Uzumaki-san, take whichever open seat you want." Ms. Ochi told him.

Naruto grinned with a nod. All the girls were now following his moves, hoping he sat next to them.

'He's so _dreamy_."

"I wonder if he's single."

"I want to know if his muscles are as hard as they look through that uniform!"

All these came in hushed whispers from the girls of the class, but he heard them as clear as day. Being a former Jinchuriki had its perks, like enhanced senses.

Eventually he he stopped at the desk right next to Uzume, sitting down in it and lounging back in the seat.

Turning to Uzume, he extended his hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki. May I ask what your name is?" He asked with his most charming smile.

Uzume felt her face heat up at his smile. She half expected steam to come out of her ears. Lightly taking his hand and shaking it, her heart thudded rapidly in her chest.

"U-Uzume Kurosaki." She replied in an uncharacteristically meek voice.

"Uzume, it's a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you." Naruto said with a grin.

Uzume could only nod in response, turning back to the board with a large blush still on her face. She couldn't help a small grin of her own.

Perhaps today wasn't _so _bad after all.

* * *

**-Urahara Shop, later, with Naruto-**

Naruto walked towards the shop that Kisuke owned at a sedate pace. He had just got out of school, and he sent a shadow clone to tail Uzume and the petite Soul Reaper.

He didn't know what it was, but he sensed Uzume was similar to him when he was younger, a magnet for trouble.

It was a surprise to find out that she wasn't the only person in their class with a higher-than-average level of reiryoku. There was another, a boy named Uryū Ishida. From the feel of the boys reiatsu , he was a Quincy.

He was headed for the shop because he had received a message – via what Kisuke called a 'hell butterfly' – that his package, meaning the Asauchi, had arrived. Naruto was surprised it had been ready so fast, he expected to take weeks for Kisuke to procure one.

As he approached the shop, he came across the sight of two kids. One was a boy with short red hair.

The second was a young black haired girl with her hair in ponytails and two long bangs hanging in the middle of her face. Her eyes were a similar blue to his own, and she seemed to have a perpetual blush that reminded him of little Moegi.

"Ururu, clean up the back room when you're done!" The boy demanded.

"But Jinta, Tessai said _you_ had to clean the back room." He heard the girl mumble meekly.

"Why you!" The now named Jinta growled.

He gained a scowl on his face as he saw the boy picking on the little girl, putting her in a headlock and yanking on her bangs.

Walking up behind the pair swiftly and silently, Naruto yanked the boy up by his collar and brought him face to face.

"Oi, let me go ya big idiot!" The boy snapped.

Naruto simply gave him a sickly-sweet smile that seemed to freeze Jinta's blood.

The temperature seemed to have dropped in the area, the sunlight no longer spreading it's gentle warmth. It was almost like a cool day in the Fall.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to bully girls, especially when trying to get them to do _your _work?" He asked in a tone that was way too nice to be real.

As he said this, a purple hannya mask appeared from seemingly nowhere behind him.

Jinta shook his head rapidly, not wanting to upset the strange man with the smile-of-a-demon and the strange mask peeking out from behind him.

Naruto gave a tut of admonishment in response to this.

"Well now _I_ am. After all, I would hate to see what would happen should someone _less understanding_, find you doing so. I'm sure now you know, you wouldn't _dream_ of doing it again, right?" Naruto replied in a sweet tone that promised pain at the wrong answer.

Jinta began to nod his head frantically, as a dark aura surrounded the mask behind the man, turning the area dark behind him.

"Good." Naruto said in a completely cheerful tone, his smile turning normal as the mask disappeared and he dropped Jinta on his rear.

The little girl looked like she wanted to giggle at the shaken up appearance of Jinta, who looked worse than when Tessai admonished him. Looking up at the man, she spoke hesitantly.

"Wh-what are you here for Mister?" The girl asked timidly.

Naruto smiled kindly at the girl, ruffling her hair.

"My name's Naruto, I'm here to see Kisuke. Tell me, what's your name little one?" He asked kindly.

The girls blush seemed to intensify as she answered.

"U-Ururu. It's nice to meet you Naruto-san sir." She replied politely, causing Naruto to chuckle.

"Naruto is fine. Now, where is Kisuke?" Naruto asked.

Before Ururu could answer, the sliding doors to the shop opened up to reveal a tall, muscular, lightly tan-skinned man. His black hair was cornrowed and he had a large handlebar mustache, which was connected to long sideburns. He wore a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses, and a white muscle shirt with regular pants and a blue apron.

Naruto noted the fact that this man felt like a Soul Reaper, just like Kisuke and the signature that had followed him.

"Ahem, Uzumaki-san, The boss has been expecting you, follow me."He said in a formal tone, turning to lead the blond into the store.

With a wave to the two children, Naruto followed the man.

He was lead past the shelves, and into the hallway, then the room he had been in last night. The only difference was, there was a tatami mat near the back that was lifted, revealing an opening in the floor.

"Right through here Uzumaki-san sir, the boss is waiting for us with the item you requested." The large man informed him.

Naruto gave a nod, his mouth twitching in amusement of the formal way the man spoke. Though he almost raised an eyebrow when the man said 'us'.

"Thank you Mister . . . ?"He trailed off, waiting for the man to give him his name.

The man bowed slightly, as he introduced himself.

"My apologies, how rude of me. My name is Tessai Tsukabishi, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Tessai said in his formal way of speaking.

Naruto merely nodded in acknowledgement, before lowering himself into the opening, with Tessai following after him.

* * *

**-Underground Chamber-**

As he stepped off the last rung of the ladder, with Tessai following soon after, Naruto looked at the massive area he was in with well hidden surprise.

There seemed to be some unseen light source that made it look like it was in the middle of the day.

He let out a whistle as he took it in. It was made to look like a massive wasteland in the middle of a rocky desert, with the huge wall and ceiling that were painted to look like a blue sky, with white clouds interspersed here and there. Strangely enough, he saw a giant hole in the ground a little ways off.

The biggest thing was the floor, which was actually rocky with dead trees and bushes in some places.

"I haven't seen a training area like this in a _long_ time." Naruto commented in appreciation.

Out of nowhere, Tessai was in front of him crying in joy.

"Thank you for acknowledging my work!"He said in a grateful tone.

Not knowing what to say in reply, he was glad to hear Kisuke's voice call from behind him.

"Ah, Naruto, it's great to see you again!" Kisuke's voice said from behind him.

Naruto sensed another reiatsu signature with Kisuke's this time, the same one that followed him his first day here. With a smile on his face, he turned to face the strange shop keeper and . . . a cat?

Naruto nearly did a double take, as the reiatsu signature of the cat seemed to be that of a Soul Reaper. Deciding to get a better look, his eyes bled red like they did when he examined his false Zanpakutō, with the three black tomoe spinning around the pupil.

He now saw the energy travelling through the two individuals, and in the cats case, around it. That explained it. The way the energy flowed, was similar to when a shinobi used the transformation jutsu, Henge no Jutsu. So the cat was most likely a Soul Reaper under some sort of transformation.

_'That's strange . . . his eyes changed when he was looking at Yoruichi/me.'_ The other three occupants of the room thought.

Kisuke of course, had a bit more insight into what happened.

_'That must have been one of those Kekkei Genkai he mentioned. A dojutsu if I'm correct in that assumption. He didn't mention having one last night' _Kisuke thought.

Meanwhile, Naruto was focused on the reason for him being here.

Having unraveled the mystery of the cat, he looked at Kisuke, who held a long cloth bundle under his arm. Presumably his Asauchi.

"Good to see you again Kisuke. I must say, I was surprised you managed to procure an Asauchi so fast. I've been trying to do it for centuries." He said to the hat wearing blond.

Kisuke gave a genial wave with his free hand as he removed his fan from his shirt, and began fanning himself.

"Yes well, I may find the occasional Asauchi lying around. After all, first year students at Shin'ō Academy can be so forgetful sometimes." The shop keeper replied casually.

Naruto couldn't help but grin at this. He had a feeling that those students didn't just 'misplace' the blank Zanpakutō's. It seemed Kisuke might have a little bit of a shinobi streak.

"And I must say, I'm surprised by your eyes. You didn't mention having a Kekkei Genkai when you told me about them last night. A dojutsu no less." Kisuke observed.

Naruto huffed in annoyance, having hoped that he could keep it a secret as long as possible. He just got too curious for his own good.

"Yes well, we all like to keep our arsenals a little close to the chest." Naruto answered, trying to avoid giving any details. Centuries and millennia of hiding his identity and abilities made it so that he naturally tried to protect them.

"I see. I guess that's perfectly understandable." The hat-wearing man replied, getting the fact that Naruto wanted his abilities as secret as possible.

Clearing his throat, Kisuke decided to get to the matter at hand.

"Alright. Let's get to the Asauchi. There are two stages to this process. I must warn you, before we continue, the first stage could be quite dangerous. You might even die." Kisuke warned.

Noting how serious the man was, Naruto straightened up. It seemed the process wasn't as easy as it was for him to use his fake Zanpakutō.

"There's a chance I'll die?" He asked Urahara with a blank expression.

Kisuke nodded grimly, understanding he might be reluctant. He was surprised then, when a large smirk grew on Naruto's face, causing everyone else to think he might be a few cards short of a full deck.

"That's fine. It will be nice to feel the feeling of doing something with my life on the line. It's been so long, I almost don't remember it."Naruto said nostalgically.

When your life wasn't in danger, and there was no possibility of death in it, life seemed oddly dull and muted.

Upon hearing this, Kisuke couldn't help a small smile of his own. He could understand that.

"Very well. I suppose I should explain why this will be risky. You see, the truth is, though you may hold the potential to awaken them; you have never actually had Soul Reaper powers, merely pseudo-powers." Kisuke began, gaining a shocked look from Naruto.

It also shock his Zanpakutō spirit. They had always assumed that he _had_ Soul Reaper powers, not just _the potential_ to have them.

_'This explains why you have never heard my name Naruto-kun, you had yet to awaken the powers dormant within you. I should have realized it earlier'_His Zanpakutō spirit spoke in his head.

Naruto gave a mental nod to this.

Seeing the other blond understood, Kisuke continued, beginning to walk towards the immortal shinobi. He stopped when he was only a few feet away

"Therefore, we must force those powers to awaken. The entire process could take days. And there can be no interruptions." Kisuke informed him.

Hearing this, Naruto gave a hum of thought. If he would not have access to the outside world, then he would have to ensure there was a clone to take his place.

Decision made, he quickly made the cross-shaped seal for the shadow clone jutsu, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He began to channel a massive amount of chakra into the jutsu, focusing it all on creating one clone with three-quarters of his chakra reserves.

In a plume of smoke, an exact copy of himself appeared. It looked around at the dry landscape, before giving a nod to its creator, and vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

With this now out of the way, Naruto looked at the other people in the room. The cat and Tessai had wide eyes, clearly shocked at this ability. He was also getting a confused look from Kisuke.

"I won't be able to attend school if I am to do this. So I'm sending a clone to do it in my place. It can last for at least two weeks." He told them in explanation.

"That's a very useful skill Naruto-san." Tessai said, respect clearly evident in his tone.

He was a former captain of the Kidō Corps, thus a technique like this, interested him.

Clearing his throat, Kisuke decided to get the show back on the road.

"Anyway. Now that's taken care of, let's continue the explanation of the process. First, we must–" Kisuke began.

Mid sentence, Kisuke brought up his cane until it was level with Naruto's forehead.

"–eject your soul from your body." Kisuke said in an completely serious tone.

Before Naruto could react to this strange sentence, , Kisuke pushed his cane forward, and through Naruto's head without another word. But that wasn't all. A second Naruto seemed to be pushed out by the cane. This one was wearing a white kimono, and tabi socks with waraji sandals, and a chain attached to his chest that connected him to the physical body.

For Naruto, it was a strange sensation. He felt himself being pulled from his body. There wasn't any pain, only a sort of tugging sensation, unlike when Pein, AKA Nagato, had tried to do it with the power of the Rinnegan.

As he was pushed out of his body, he fell on his butt, with his hands braced behind him. He could only stare at his body in slight surprise. It was strange seeing it lying there motionless.

Having seen stranger things in his time, he simply shrugged and stood up, as he did, he noticed Kisuke, Tessai, and even the cat looked shocked.

"What?" He asked.

"He should breathe normally, let alone move. How can he have this much Reiatsu, it's as strong as a Lieutenant under Gentei Reiin."(2) The cat said in a male tone.

It seemed that in its shock, the 'cat' forgot to keep the act up. This just confirmed Naruto's theory that it was a Soul Reaper. Either that, or impossibly, a summoning animal.

But when he heard the cat speak of Spiritual Pressure, he noticed that his was running loose. It was barely even fifteen percent of his power, but it seemed to be huge to them. He quickly reigned it in, making his signature disappear once more.

"What this about not being able to breathe or move, and what's a Soul-Binding Limiter?" Naruto asked the three Soul Reapers.

It was Kisuke that answered, having been least surprised by the spiritual pressure of the immortal shinobi.

"What Yoruichi means is you should be having trouble moving, because most people have trouble when outside their bodies if they are still alive. They simply don't have very much a Reiryoku, making it hard to breath and move. Second, a Gentei Reiin is a special seal used to limit the powers of any Soul Reaper ranked Lieutenant or above. This is because they have so much Reiryoku, it could influence the world of the living. negatively. It limits their abilities by about 80%. You were leaking the amount of a Lieutenant when fully releasing their Reiatsu while wearing one." Kisuke explained.

Hearing this, Naruto became contemplative. The amount of Reiatsu he had released was barely fifteen percent of what his reserves were. It meant he had roughly five percent more Reiryoku than a lieutenant.

_'And you haven't even unlocked your Soul Reaper powers yet! Once you do, you should have as much, or even more than a Captain. Oooo, it gets me excited just imagining the blood we could spill with that amount of power!'_The voice of his Zanpakutō spirit commented.

"That makes sense. Now, let's get on with this." Naruto replied.

"Very well. . . ." Kisuke said in a soft tone.

Something about it put Naruto on edge, although he didn't know why. He found out a second later.

In a flash, Urahara had drawn a sword from his cane, and severed the chain connecting him to his body. Naruto looked at the severed chain with his eyes wide and his jaw gaping. He _did not_ just do that, did he? He wasn't certain what would happen, but he knew having the chain severed wasn't good.

"Your Chain of Fate has been severed. This means that it will slowly start to corrode, until there is nothing left. This is the Trial of the Shattered Shaft. You will be placed at the bottom of that shaft over there–" Kisuke said, motioning to the hole that Naruto noticed earlier.

"–and your arms will be bound with a high-level Kidō. You will only get out, and stop the corroding by obtaining the powers of a Soul Reaper." Kisuke explained.

Naruto nodded stiffly to this. Without a word, he walked over to the edge of the shaft, and jumped down.

He was quickly joined by Tessai in the darkness at the bottom of the shaft. The large man held his palms away from himself, with arms out to the side, then clasped his hands together with his fingers intricately interwoven.

"**Bakudō # 99: Part I: Kin!****" **He cried.

Naruto found his arms pulled behind his back an bound with metal.

"I apologize Naruto-san, but this is necessary." The cornrowed man said apologetically.

Naruto merely nodded, looking up to the top of the shaft, where a figure was silhouetted against the artificial sky.

"Normally, the corroding takes a very long time; however, this shaft drastically speeds up the process. You have at most 72 hours before it encroaches completely. Should it do this, you will become a hollow, and we will have no choice but to destroy you." Kisuke informed him.

Even as this was said, Naruto saw the first chain link writhe and grow teeth, before dissolving.

_'Well he said I would only get out if I got the powers of a Soul Reaper. I suspect that means I must look within myself and find it.' _Naruto reasoned to himself.

Without hesitation, he reached within himself, and willed himself to appear in his 'Soulscape'. It was made easy by the fact it was similar to entering his mindscape as a jinchuriki.

His body slumped forward with a soft thud as he withdrew into himself.

"Well. It looks like he's on the right track." Yoruichi spoke, watching beside Kisuke.

The former Corps-Commander of the Onmitsukidō could only nod.

* * *

**-Naruto's Soulscape, with Naruto and his Zanpakutō Spirit-**

Naruto looked at the soulscape as he appeared in it.

It was night, and the moon was large, and bright, in the sky. It was bathing the landscape in a silvery light. He stood in the center of a clearing in a large forest. The forest was made up of trees that had no leaves, giving the appearance of Winter..

"Finally, we meet face-to-face." A familiar voice said from behind him.

Naruto turned to get his first look at his Zanpakutō Spirit.

She stood in front of him with as smirk on her face. She had long light grey hair that she kept in a ponytail, and narrow grey eyes. Her skin was pale and unblemished, and she had a lithe, but curvy figure. She wore a tight leather top and miniskirt, with black stockings. Over her shoulders she had a grey haori with a symbol on the back of a bird with a yin-yang symbol below it, surrounded on both sides by two tomoe.

"We do indeed. So tell me, Zanpakutō-chan, how do I go about finding my powers?" Naruto asked, preferring to get straight to the point.

He received a feral grin in response, that was decidedly bloodthirsty. Belatedly, he noticed the nodachi in her right hand. At the same time, he realized he wore the katana that was his pseudo-Zanpakutō on his hip.

"You fight me. No jutsu, no Sharingan, no powers. Just a one on one pure sword battle, until one of us is beaten, or can't go anymore. I will only help you find them if you can defeat me, and you hold little hope of finding them unless you have my help." The Spirit answered.

Naruto gave a silent nod at this, simply continuing to look at her. They stood there like that, neither moving, sizing each other up. As if they received a silent signal, both of them shot forward at the same time, blades meeting in a shower of sparks.

* * *

Naruto panted heavily as he glared at his opponent.

He was drenched in sweat, and there were scratches and cuts all over his body, some still bleeding, others already closed. His clothes had too many tears in them to count, and the cloth was stained crimson in almost half its surface area.

His opponent wasn't much better off, being equally exhausted. The difference was, she had a gleeful grin on her face.

Currently, they stood in the middle of the clearing. It had been nearly three days since their fight began, and Naruto knew time was running out. It had been a back and forth stalemate the entire time.

He could sense he had entered the final encroachment, which meant he had to end this _now_, and find his powers.

"My my Naruto-kun, cutting it awfully close aren't you?" His Zanpakutō Spirit teased.

Inside, she was worried that her master _would _fail. She didn't want him to become a hollow and be destroyed, even if this only meant he would go to the Soul Society.

With a growl, Naruto began his final assault with the same two-handed style he had been using the past three days. He came in with a downward slash at the spirit, trying to cut her from shoulder to hip. Her nodachi came up to block it.

Naruto was undeterred, as he began to unleash a lightning fast assault of slashes, parries, and spins, never once letting up, seeming to get faster by the second. The spirit was hard pressed to continue to block this desperate assault. She was near empty, and he was going faster than when he started the fight three days ago.

Finally, Naruto got the chance to end it. As she went to block his latest slash, going upwards and diagonal, he suddenly abandoned the two handed style, taking his katana in his right hand, he changed the direction and sliced through the tendons on her right wrist, causing her nodachi to drop slightly. It was all the opening he needed.

Quick as a flash, he brought his katana up to lay against her throat.

"I –_huff huff_– win. Now tell me –_huff_–, were are my powers." He commanded.

The spirit simply grinned in pure bliss. She was glad her master had proven stronger than her.

"Right here." She said.

The next thing he knew, her sword was sticking through his gut, and he felt the beginnings of a massive influx of energy that felt distinctly like a Soul Reapers reiatsu signature.

Sure enough, the sword was slowly dissolving and being absorbed into his body. The Zanpakutō Spirit leaned forwards so she could speak into his ear.

"Take this power, and use it to shed the blood of your enemies, hopefully, you will hear my name soon, now that you have awakened them." She whispered.

His world went white as he felt himself returning to the outside world

"I _will_ hear your name once you bond to the Asauchi." Naruto promised.

* * *

**-Outside, with Tessai, Kisuke, and Yoruichi-**

Outside the soulscape, the other three had begun to get worried. The final encroachment had begun, and it still wasn't over. Finally, the last link in Naruto's Chain of Fate disappeared, and a hole began to open up on his chest, as a white substance began pouring from his mouth.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed as the substance spread.

His back was arched in agony, as he sat on his knees. Eyes wide and bloodshot, he began to writhe. Veins could be seen clearly across his body.

"It's no good. I'll have to begin the second part of the incantation!" Tessai exclaimed.

He slammed his fingers into the ground, releasing a white spiritual energy.

"**Bakudō # 99: Part II: Bankin, First Song - Halting Wraps!**" He cried as the spiritual energy solidified into white wraps of cloth, encircling Naruto, and making him look like a mummy.

This however, seemed to not be enough, so Tessai continued with the second 'song', aware what would happen should he use final song.

"**Second Song - Hundred Serial Bolts!**" The former Kidō Corps Commander called.

Naruto was pierced by a numerous metal bolts, that further held the clo0th down. Still the struggling increased. Reluctantly, Tessai prepared to say the final song.

Just as he had been about to finish casting, an explosion seemed to emanate from Naruto, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, and forcing Tessai to shield his eyes from the dust.

Eyes squinted, he could just make out a a black and blond blur shooting upwards from the cloud of dust.

* * *

Up top, Yoruichi and Kisuke watched as the explosion occurred, and witnessed as Naruto shot past and over them. Instantly the turned around, on guard in case he had become a hollow.

Their anticipation was worsened by the cloud of dust surrounding where he had landed. It seemed to melt away as the dust cleared, to reveal Naruto was perfectly fine, and lacking both hollow hole and mask. The only difference was, he was now dressed like a Soul Reaper.

"Well . . it appears the first step was a success – congratulations Naruto-san, you have gained the powers of a Soul Reaper." Kisuke congratulated the immortal shinobi.

Naruto simply nodded in response.

Then he spoke "What happens now?"

Kisuke smiled at the question, inclining his head as he spoke.

"Now . . . now we move to the second step. You must take the Asauchi and meditate with it, until it begins to bond with the spirit within you, and change form." Kisuke told him.

"And while I am doing this, could you teach me the techniques of the Soul Reapers via my clones? I get the memories of everything they learn, as long as it is not physical. So if you teach the techniques to them while I am unlocking my Zanpakutō, I will also be learning the techniques." Naruto asked.

Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Tessai – who had just emerged from the shaft – looked wide-eyed at this, before Kisuke gained a gleam in his eyes.

This would be _very _interesting to study. The potential for growth rate was near endless, and from what he knew of the other blond, he already had a very high rate of growth to begin with.

"Indeed, that can be arranged. Get back in your physical body, and we will begin." Kisuke declared.

The immortal shinobi did so quickly, moving over and merging with his body. It was again, a strange sensation. Like throwing on a heavy coat. He wondered, if this was how it felt for the Yamanaka clan to use their signature Shintenshin no Jutsu(3).

Back in his body, he made to stand up, only to collapse, as his muscles, which hadn't been used in days, refused to move. Gritting his teeth at the feeling of pins and needles all over his body, he channeled chakra throughout it, to not only enable him to move, but to wake up the muscles faster.

Standing, he faced the group of two men and a cat.

"Alright, create as many clones as you think you'll need, one group will follow Tessai–" He motioned to the giant man.

"Where they will learn Kidō. The other will follow Yoruichi here–" This time he gestured to the cat.

"–to learn about Hohō – high speed movements in a fight through use of Shunpo – and see if you need to learn about Hakuda, hand to hand combat." Kisuke finished.

Kisuke, Tessai, and Yoruichi, waited for Naruto's reaction to hearing he was learning from a cat, even if it _was_ a talking one. They expected shock or something similar. Thus, they were surprised, when his only reaction was a slight raise of the eyebrow.

"So, are your going to continue to pretend to be a cat, or are you going to be doing this as a human?" Naruto asked Yoruichi casually.

His answer came in the form of an eruption of smoke. It slowly cleared to reveal a naked woman. She had dark skin, and purplish-black hair, with golden eyes that had slit pupils, like a cat. Her body was curvy and lithe, and she was decently endowed.

"Well . . . it's not every day someone sees through that." She commented with a smirk, expecting him to either become embarrassed, or go perverted.

She was surprised though, when he showed no outward reaction.

Naruto had to resist chuckling at the put-out expression she had. It wasn't like he hadn't seen something similar before, in fact, it was almost exactly like his Oiroke no Jutsu(4).

However, Yoruichi was slightly vindicated as Naruto _did_ admire her body, but there was little reaction besides this.

"I hope you weren't expecting me to be embarrassed by such a shameless display. Embarrassment is derived from guilt. I haven't felt guilt since the eleventh century." Naruto teased with a grin.

Yoruichi good only huff in fake annoyance as Kisuke handed her a bundle of clothes. She quickly donned the clothes, which consisted of tight black pants and white socks with Chinese style shoes, and a black long-sleeved shirt with an orange top over it.

"Now that we're all fully clothed, let begin." Kisuke said.

* * *

**Chapter End**

**AN/ Ok, so that's chapter 2 down. Sorry it took so long. **

**So, Naruto now has Soul Reaper powers and is going to train in the techniques of the Soul Reapers. Next chapter will be a time skip to his first appearance fighting hollows since he saved Uzume and Rukia, and it will be when Uryū uses the hollow bait to attract all the hollows to Karakura, right before Renji and Byakuya arrive to take her back to the Soul Society.**

**I don't think I will show the training right away, I might reveal parts of it in flashbacks. **

**As you can guess, I intend for him to be able to use Vizored powers, as well as possibly some hollow techniques.**

**I'd also like peoples opinions on what to do with Orihime. Should she still have a crush on Uzume, or should it be on someone else?**

**Finally, it seemed allot of people weren't against the concept of a harem, while some didn't want it. I still am not decided, so I decided I am going to open a poll about it. This will be open until the next chapter comes out.**

**That's all for now, see ya folks!**

**1: Stealth Force  
**

**2: Soul-Limiting Symbol**

**3: Mind Body Switch Jutsu**

**4:Sexy Jutsu**


	3. The Mystery of the Hood

**Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles**

**AN/ Alright, chapter three on tap. First off, I'll address some things brought up in reviews, just to clarify.**

**First, I ****Mz90 ****had a complaint about how the girls reacted to Naruto. Well, the answer to this is a combination of the fact that he is, as stated, ****_very_**** handsome, and the fact he is ****_very_**** charming when he wants to be.**

**Second, ****Lightningblade49 ****said they believed Naruto was already at a high captains level with his shinobi abilities. I will try to clarify, why he****_ isn't_**** there yet. The fact is, he won't have access to these abilities during most fights, because they require the use of physical energy, to complete the other half of chakra, and he'll be in spirit form.**

**Third, a guest asked about how his inner hollow would act, since his Zanpakutō is already 'hollow-like'. My reply is, his Zanpakutō is not exactly hollow-like, she is simply eager for strong opponents, kind of like a bloodthirsty Rock Lee, or better yet,, Kenpachi Zaraki. She also represents facets of his personality derived from part of his heritage, which has been hinted at already. As for his inner hollow, it will be a 'hero's comeback' of 'Yami', his dark side from the Waterfall of Truth, this time with new grievances against him, and not for being too 'happy go lucky'.**

**Lastly, was guest ****NyaNyaKittyFace****, who asked a few good questions about certain things: **

**The first, was, would Naruto have both Quincy and Soul Reaper powers, do to his sage training? My answer is, it could theoretically be possible, as gathering nature energy seems to be similar to how Quincy's gather Reishi, however, I am not sure if Naruto will have this power, as he already is going to have a powerful Zanpakutō, plus hollowfication and hollow techniques. **

**The Second question, was whether Naruto was able to gain Soul Reaper powers because of Aizen. The answer is, I'm not giving anything away yet on that front. **

**The final question, was, what else did Naruto gain from the Juubi? In truth, he didn't really ****_gain_**** anything from the Juubi. The immortality was a byproduct of him using a seal, to rapidly absorb the Juubi's chakra, and thus, altering his DNA, as it was super-infused with the massive amounts of the the natural energy that the Juubi's chakra was made of. By doing this, he essentially eliminated the Juubi from existence, as it's chakra was converted to his own, because it is only a mass of chakra/natural energy, as soon as that mass is gone, it ceases to exist. However, by doing so, his chakra gained the quality of super vitality, which affects his body, stopping it from aging, and allowing him to heal from nearly anything**

**So, now, to the poll about a harem. I am of two minds. This is because, while the poll was overwhelmingly harem, the reviews were mostly pro single pairing, or very small harem if it is a harem.**

**My immediate inclination would be to split the difference, and go with a double pairing. However, I still have a bit of time before any of the others I would add to the pairing are introduced, so I won't act rashly. **

**This time, I will be relying solely on reviews to guide my decision, so, when done reading the chapter, please leave a review if you want your opinion heard.**

**Lastly, I'm a little disappointed that not anyone seemed to get my little quote from a favorite TV show of mine that Naruto used near the end of the last chapter.**

**I believe that is all for now, so, on with the chapter!**

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context:_ 'What?'_

Letter/Book/Written text: _What?_

Hollow speech: **"What?"**

Hollow thoughts: **_'What'_**

Remembered Speech: _"What?"_

Zanpakutō Speech: "What?"

Zanpakutō Thoughts: _'What?'_

**Chapter Three: The Mystery of the Hood**

* * *

**-Underground, With Naruto, Yoruichi, Tessai, and Kisuke-**

"**Hadō # 31: Shakkahō!****" Naruto cried, s he held his palm facing a cliff face.**

**A large orb of red energy gathered within a second, the size of a basketball. It launched from his hand, traveling at very high speeds, to impact the cliff face. A shower of dust and rock debris reigned down from the impact sight, clearing to reveal a large crater in the side of the cliff.**

**Naruto hadn't changed much in the two months that he had been training with the former Soul Reapers. The only change to his attire, was he now wore a grey haori, similar to a captains haori, that had the design of the yin-yang symbol with two tomoe on either side, on the back. Above that, was the symbol for Konoha, only styled more curvy so it looked even more like a leaf. Finally, along the bottom edge, were repeating infinity signs. He also had a black hood attached to his shihakushō, that could be raised to cover his face. **

**Strapped to his side was a katana that looked nearly identical to how his pseudo-Zanpakutō had appeared, only with the sharkskin underneath the hilt cloth being grey.**

**"Very impressive Naruto-san. That was as strong as many people can get it ****_with_**** the incantation." Tessai praised from behind the blond.**

**Naruto gave a nod in response to the praise. He knew he had come a long way in the past couple months, with the help of his clones, and the teachers Kisuke provided. From what he could tell, he was probably more skilled than most in the Soul Society with Kidō. **

**It came from having massive reserves of Reiryoku – that only Kenpachi or Yamamoto, and ****_maybe_**** Aizen, could rival – and his excellent control over said reiryoku reserves. It allowed him to put more power into the Kidō. When this was added to the fact he had spent centuries and millennia with nothing to do but master as many shinobi techniques as he could, it became easy to learn the Kidō spells.**

**"And his Shunpo is top notch as well." A purring voice said, as a pair of arms draped over his shoulder.**

**He could only chuckle at Yoruichi's continued attempts to get him to react to her shameless flirting. She had been trying to get a reaction from him for the entire time he had trained here.**

**"Thank you Yoruichi-chan. That's quite the complement, coming from the 'Goddess of Flash'." He said humbly. He then gained a contemplative look.**

**"Of course, maybe that title has more to do with your tendency to expose yourself to men." He said in a completely stoic tone. He knew from experience, that was often more annoying than a teasing one.**

**The purple-haired woman huffed, removing her arms from around him and instead crossing them under her bust. There was a pout on her face.**

**"You make it sound like I'm some kind of scarlet woman." She complained.**

**Naruto didn't bother giving this a reply.**

"Yes well, teasing aside, I would have to agree with your assessments. When you factor in his abilities with his Zanpakutō, I would say he is on level with several of the captains, although I can't be too sure how you would do against the four senior captains, Unohana, Kyōraku, Ukitake, and Yamamoto ." Kisuke evaluated.

To Naruto, this said allot. He had been told of the sheer power of the Captain-Commander. It seemed, he was above even the level of the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Naruto had been working tirelessly to learn these new techniques, because he knew from experience, that shinobi techniques were only so effective against spirit beings, this was because the physical half tended to lessen the damage it could do.

"Well, I think that's enough training for today, let's head back up to the shop, I have something for you there Naruto." Kisuke suggested.

This got a round of nods from the group, with Yoruichi changing back into a cat.

* * *

**-Upstairs, a few minutes later-**

Naruto looked at Kisuke, who was sitting on the raised portion at the back of the shop, that lead to the rest of the building.

The blond shinobi-turned-Soul-Reaper, was back in his physical body, and dressed in similar clothes to when he had rescued Rukia and Uzume, only with a black coat, and white long-sleeved shirt with a hood.

"So what's this thing you had for me Kisuke?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Ah yes, that. You see, I decided you needed a faster way to eject your soul from your body, so I had this made." Kisuke told him, as he pulled a necklace from within his shirt.

It was a bronze medallion, with the skull symbol that Kisuke had on the bottom of his cane, imprinted on the front of it. The medallion hung from a brown leather cord.

"This will eject you soul from your body. Normally, I would also give you an Artificial Soul pill as well, so that your body would be taken care of. But, with your ability to create clones, I figure it is well within your abilities to take care of it yourself." Kisuke explained as he tossed the necklace to the immortal blond, who leaned against the wall to the hallway..

"Thanks." Naruto said as he took the necklace, putting it around his neck.

Before any more could be said, the door to the shopped slammed open.

The two blonds looked to the doorway, to see an irate Rukia Kuchiki standing there.

"Ah, if it isn't my favorite customer, what can I do for you today?" Kisuke asked, before being smacked backwards and onto his back.

"Don't play innocent, I had to come in person because I've been trying to call for _days_ with a major problem!" She growled.

Kisuke dragged himself back to a sitting position, adjusting his hat before speaking.

"Oh, sorry about that, but we've been busy lately. I was going to call you today, but–" He said, the implication obvious.

Rukia huffed, but got to the reason she was there in the first place.

"it's serious. I need information." She began, gaining the attention of all the rooms occupants.

"I need to hear what you know about 'Quincy's'." She said bluntly.

At this, Kisuke seemed to turn serious. And Naruto perked up.

"Quincy's. That's a name I haven't heard in a while." Kisuke said.

"Does have kind of an ancient ring to it. It's been two centuries if memory serves." Commented Tessai, as he brought in tea.

"Who are they?" Rukia asked.

"Who _were_ they you mean. They were a clan who specialized in killing hollows. They started as humans who could sense spirits, like Uzume. Then they, began to gain powers to kill hollows. This lead to conflict with the Soul Reapers." Kisuke began.

"Heh, that's an understatement." Naruto scoffed from his place against the wall.

It seemed that Rukia hadn't seen him before, for she spun her head to look at him in shock.

"You're one of the students from Uzume's school, what are _you_ doing here?" She asked in shock.

"I'm here because I feel like it, now let Kisuke explain the rest of the story. I'm curious to see how much of it he knows." Naruto replied.

Kisuke got the not-so-subtle hint to get on with it, so he cleared his throat, and continued.

"It was a conflict of ideals. Cleansing hollows, or outright killing them. The Quincy didn't believe that the hollows deserved to be cleansed, and that they should all be wiped out. It wasn't that strange when you think about it, they were trying to avenge their comrades, and doing what they believed to be right. But, I suppose you could say, it's what lead to their destruction." Kisuke explained.

Again Naruto scoffed at the way he put it.

"_May_? There's no question it did. The stubborn fools refused to listen to reason, when it was explained to them that they were upsetting the balance of the world because of their 'pride as a Quincy'. They couldn't except that it was necessary for hollows to exist. Eventually, the Soul Reapers did what seemed logical." Naruto interrupted.

"Logical? What did they do?" Rukia asked quietly.

"It was a painful decision, but in the end. The Soul Reapers had no choice but to destroy the Quincy. Otherwise, their actions would have brought the destruction of this world. So, two hundred years ago, the Quincy became extinct." Kisuke answered.

Rukia looked shocked at the news that the Soul Reapers would do something like this, and was about to bring up Uryū when Naruto spoke up once more.

"Well that's not entirely true." Naruto put in.

Everyone turned a questioning gaze to him. He shifted a little, before elaborating.

"A few families survived the purge, and have been lying low since then. There are only a handful left, but they're still around. In fact, one of them goes to Karakura High, in the same class as Uzume. Uryū Ishida. I'm unsure what other families there are in Japan, but his is one for sure." Naruto explained.

It looked like the discussion might continue, but then, Rukia's phone went off. Just as soon as she flipped it open, it stopped.

"Huh, looks like Uzume's doing good on her own." She commented, just before it rang again, and then the signal cut off again.

"What is _wrong_ with this thing?" She asked.

Finally, it began to go crazy, as the screen lit up, showing hollows appearing everywhere.

Rukia rushed outside, to look up, and see a tear opening in the sky.

"Well, that's not ominous at all." Naruto deadpanned sarcastically.

"I've got to go find Uzume!" Rukia exclaimed, rushing off.

Naruto watched her run off, before turning to Kisuke.

"So, what are we going to do about this? I assume we're going to go thin the herd, as it were. Because there's way too many hollows appearing for those two to handle." Naruto said.

Kisuke hummed in agreement.

"Yes, you're right. Go ahead and begin to take car of the ones far from the Quincy and Uzume, and meet us when they are all destroyed." Kisuke told him,

With a nod, Naruto created a seal less shadow clone, and then used the medallion recently given to him, to eject his soul.

"Take that to the training ground." He commanded the clone, as he raised the hood connected to his robe.

In the shadow it cast, his eyes glowed an ominous red, with the three tomoe marks spinning wildly.

Without another word, he vanished using a Shunpo.

* * *

**-Outside, with Naruto-**

Naruto reappeared in the middle of the shopping district of Karakura. His eyes blazed with the sharingan as he assessed the situation. There were at least three hollows in sight. He briefly noted that one seemed to be being led away by the boy he recognized as Yasatora 'Chad' Sado.

He saw that the energies in the boy were beginning to rise, meaning he was on the cusp of awakening some sort of power. Thus, he decided to focus on the more important thing, namely the two hollows that had begun to tear up the streets. He noticed that one was making to attack a woman who was holding her children in her arms as she ran from the scene.

In an instant, he used Shunpo to reappear in front of the hollow.

_Clang_

The hollow, which looked like a sort of lizard, hissed upon seeing him. His blade easily held back the claws of its hand, and even began to cut into the white bone-like material

**"A Ssssoul Reaper. Thisssss isss a Sssurprise! Your soul will be delicioussss!"** It said in a hissing voice.

Naruto said nothing, causing the hollow to mistake his silence for fear.

**"Oh! Are you afraid little Ssssoul Reaper? Don't worry, it will be painless!" **The hollow chuckled maliciously.

Naruto remained silent for a moment, before looking up at the hollow.

"Afraid? Of what? There is nothing to be afraid of here. You don't _honestly _believe yourself superior do you? I have not even released my Zanpakutō, and yet, I effortlessly stop your attack. No, I simply don't see the point in talking to you, when you will be dead in a second." He scoffed.

With that, he suddenly put more force on his blade, slicing through the hollows hand. Blood splattered across the pavement as the severed limb disintegrated. Before the hollow could even howl in agony, he rushed forward and bisected it completely.

As the hollow slowly disintegrated, Naruto swung his left arm behind his back and pointed with his middle and index finger extended, and the others curled into the palm.

"**Hadō # 4: Byakurai!**" He said softly, not even turning to look at what he was firing at. A large bolt of bluish lightning extended from his fingers.

A shriek was heard, as the humanoid bird-like hollow that had been attempting to attack him from behind, was pierced through the mask, leaving it to disintegrate.

Wordlessly, Naruto took off in the direction he sensed the nearest hollows were.

* * *

**-Near the park, with Uzume, and Uryū-**

Uryū was about to prepare another arrow to fire when he sensed something that caused him to freeze. He could sense all the hollows in the area, and across town. So when all of a sudden, hollow signatures in far off places like the shopping district began disappearing rapidly, he had trouble comprehending what was happening.

Then he felt it. Appearing in the center of a group of hollows as large as the one he was in the middle of, fighting back to back with Uzume. The unmistakable signature of a Soul Reaper. Within moments, the signatures of all the hollows disappeared.

"I-impossible!" He exclaimed, gaining the attention of Uzume.

"What is it Uryū?" Asked Uzume.

Uryū was slightly shaking in shock. Still, he managed to answer.

"There's someone else out there eliminating the hollows. Another Soul Reaper." He told her.

Uzume, looked confused, as she would expect this to be a good thing. And she voiced this opinion.

"So, isn't that a good thing?"

In the wake of this question, Uryū began fighting again, while also explaining what he meant.

"You don't get it. This person is eliminating whole groups as large as the one we are facing, in mere minutes. It's not good or bad, but it is most certainly not normal!"

Upon hearing this, Uzume couldn't help but be reminded of the man who had saved her on the night she became a Substitute Soul Reaper.

Before she could ponder this any longer, she noticed a disturbance in the sky, as if it was being pulled back, like a curtain, in four different places surrounding the park. Out of the openings, four massive hollows began to appear, with plain masks and long noses, and what appeared to be cloaks made out of inky-black shadows.

"What the hell is that? Uzume questioned in fear.

* * *

**-A few streets away, with Rukia-**

Rukia could only stare in shock at the sight before her. The sky seemed to tear itself open, and out peaked the face of the four massive hollows. It was a sight that filled her with dread, as she recognized what it was.

"Menos. . . ." She whispered in horror.

Near her, Konpa – the mod-soul that inhabited Uzume's body while she fought – heard her reaction.

"Menos, what's that?" She asked.

Rukia swallowed hard before answering

"Menos Grande is a special class of hollows, made of hundreds of compressed hollows who began devouring each other. I've only read about them in books before. Only a captain of the Gotei 13 could hope to defeat one. One I might see us handling, but _four_. . . ." She explained, trailing off in a helpless tone.

At this, Konpa gulped. She knew she should stay out of the way. Uzume would be _pissed _if she messed up her body. The mod-soul let out an involuntary shudder as she remembered what Uzume had done to make sure she didn't get it in her head to take any _liberties _with her body when she was in it. This happened after the lesbian mod-soul had almost ruined her reputation by hitting on all the other girls in class.

"Come on." Rukia called, as she began to run towards where she knew Uzume to be.

* * *

**–****Near the Karakura Hospital, with Naruto–**

Naruto watched apathetically as the last hollow that wasn't near Uzume and Uryū disintegrated. He had been killing hollows non-stop for near half an hour now.

It didn't take much effort of skill, but it was still annoying. Although his Zanpakutō seemed happy with how much blood she was getting to spill.

_'Mmmm, I sure am Naruto-kun! It's been awhile since we've spilled so much blood!' _His Zanpakutō commented joyously.

Before their conversation could continue, Naruto felt another four hollow signatures appear, these ones was much bigger than any of the others.

"Such a large signatures. It must be Menos. I think you may just get released." Naruto spoke, first to himself, and then to his Zanpakutō.

He could practically _feel_ his Zanpakutō shiver in delight at the idea of being released.

With this, he vanished, headed to the area he felt the Menos emerging.

* * *

Naruto emerged from the Shunpo, to stand on a branch in a tree in the park. From here, he could see all that was going on. Uzume and Uryū were facing down the hollow, with Urahara off to the side with his cohort, and restraining Rukia.

It took him a second to realize, he intended for Uzume to take on the Menos. Before his eyes, he watched her charge the Menos, in an attempt to cut it down like she did all hollows. He could only shake his head at such tactics.

"That won't work on a Menos." He muttered to himself.

Sure enough, she got booted rather hard, and tumbled backwards, to land where she started from. For the next few minutes, Naruto watched as Uryū discovered how much of a boost he got from touching Uzume's Zanpakutō.

That was when the Menos she was facing began charging a cero. As he looked at this, he saw with his sharingan that one of the other Menos was going to do the same.

"Looks like that's my cue." He said to himself.

Disappearing in a blur, he reappeared in mid air about twenty yards in front of the hollow. He appeared to simply be regarding it silently for a moment, while the hollow opened it's mouth to begin charging the cero.

"You really are a mindless beast. Even worse than the lower-class hollows." He stated to the oblivious hollow.

All he got in response was a roar as the hollow opened its mouth to fire the now charged cero. The area was bathed in red light, as it seemed to become dark anywhere the light didn't touch.

"Very well. . . ." The immortal muttered.

The blond held his Zanpakutō horizontally in front of him in his left hand as the cero was loosed.

"Now. . .**Witness Hell, Karasuba!**" The blond declared, as an aura of grey reiatsu exploded around him.

The now named Karasuba, was engulfed in a black light. When it faded, it revealed that the Zanpakutō had changed. It had grown to become a nodachi, with the bronze guard being lobed now, and having the design of two crows wing on either side, with the tips of the wings pointing the same direction as the sharp part of the blade.. The back half of the blade shining darkly, being almost black in color, while the front remained a gleaming silver.

Idly, Naruto heard a few screams from the direction that Urahara and the rest were in. He ignored them as he swung his arm outwards, slicing through the cero just as it was about to hit.

The energy seemed to dissipate after it was cut by the blade.

Without a word, Naruto swung his blade once more, unleashing a crescent of glowing grey reiatsu, that traveled at high speeds, passing straight through the hollow.

For a few seconds, all was silent. Then the hollow gave one last roar, as its head slid from its body, with both beginning to disintegrate. From behind Naruto, the other two Menos let loose roars as they saw the attack on their fellow.

Acting as the mindless beasts they were, they immediately began to charge ceros' of their own.

This was stopped as Naruto blurred out of existence, appearing before them.

"**Kushizashi. . .**"(1) He said softly, as he channeled a massive amount of reiryoku into the technique.

The hollows began to howl in agony, writhing to and fro. To them, it felt like they were being stabbed by hundreds of white-hot knives, the size of Uzume's blade.

Not wasting any time, Naruto rushed forward, slicing through the top of one of the Menos' head vertically. As the blood spurted from the Menos' head, and it began to tip forward while disintegrating, Naruto turned to the third and final Menos, which had charged a cero.

In a flash, he slashed his Zanpakutō through the air, releasing a grey crescent of reiryoku just like with the first Menos. It effortlessly cut through and diffused the cero, and continued to slice through the Menos' head right in the middle of the mouth.

For a moment, all was silent as the hollows disintegrated. Karasuba was enveloped in a flash of black light once more, as it reverted to its sealed form.

In the silence, the solid – _shink_ – of Karasuba being sheathed could be heard all around.

* * *

**-A few minutes earlier, with the group-**

Rukia watched with wide eyes, as the Menos was forced back to Hueco Mundo by Uzume. She had never dreamed of the possibility of Uzume being capable of this.

However, her shock did not dull her fear, which only grew as she saw Uzume collapse, and Uryū struggling to save her by releasing her bottled up reiryoku. The fear stemmed from the other three Menos still looming over them.

That was when she saw a blur seem flash by, which solidified in front of one of the Menos, who had begun charging a cero. For a moment, she mistook the person for a captain, due to the grey haori. However, she realized that it was the same man from the night she met Uzume.

_'Is he that boy from Urahara's?'_ She wondered. It was a distinct possibility, as it wasn't likely to be a coincidence that he had been visiting the store, and seemed to know the mysterious Kisuke Urahara.

"Hey, is that the guy that saved us that first night we met?"

Rukia turned to the side, to see Uzume had recovered, although still looking slightly out of it.

"I think it is." She answered.

Upon hearing this, Uzume started paying closer attention to the hooded man. She had often wondered about him during her time as a Substitute Soul Reaper, namely, why had he not appeared since that first night?

As she looked at him, she began to worry, as she saw the Menos he stood in front of, had charged up the same technique she had just barely deflected. She was shocked that he didn't move at all.

This shock grew to worry, as he still hadn't moved when the Menos made to fire the technique.

"LOOK OUT!" She cried, at the same time she heard Rukia scream out a warning as well.

"MOVE YOU FOOL!"

Their warnings went ignored, as his Zanpakutō was drawn in a flash of silver. Just before the cero would hit, an aura of grey reiatsu exploded around the man, and his Zanpakutō changed form.

The reiatsu was unbelievable. It was as large and oppressing as when Uzume had deflected the cero, although she didn't know that, it simply felt very heavy to her. At the same time, it felt comforting, and filled her with hope.

One thing that confused her, was the way his Zanpakutō changed form.

Unlike, Uzume, Rukia recognized what happened with the Zanpakutō.

_'A shikai. And such a powerful release of reiatsu. It's on the level of a captain!'_ She thought, some hope entering her.

This hope was vindicated when the hooded Soul Reaper effortlessly sliced through the cero, and released a wave of reiryoku that cut the Menos' head off. From there, she watched in shock as he proceeded to easily dispatch the other two Menos. The only thing she didn't understand, was when the hollows seemed to scream in pain.

Was it some sort of nerve attack by the Zanpakutō?

She was broken from her thoughts, when she heard Konpa speak up, shock evident in her tone.

* * *

"Hn, so that's the power of a Gillian. It's not nearly as impressive as I expected." Naruto said dismissively, the comment to himself being heard throughout the area in which the group was amassed.

His comment seemed to shake the members of the group, who didn't work at the Urahara Shop, out of their shocked state.

"Wh-who the hell _are_ you?" Konpa asked in shock. It was the first time she witnessed such a display of strength from anyone.

Her comment got Uzume's attention, as she recognized the man as the one that saved her, but she still had no idea who he was.

She had recovered from the surge in her spiritual power in time to see the hooded man kill the first Menos, and watched in shock as he dealt with the others. His seemingly effortless slaying of them both inspired and scared her.

Uzume had nearly killed herself merely forcing a single Menos back to Hueco Mundo, the home of the hollows. Yet this hooded stranger had outright _killed _not one but _three_ Menos, in a seemingly effortless way.

Was this the power of a captain-level Soul Reaper Rukia had told her of? If so, she could understand the obvious respect in her voice when she spoke of them. The power was overwhelming.

It had increased when his sword changed form, and the reiatsu exploded from him at the same level as when she had forced back the Menos.

Her shock had been furthered by his casual dismissal of the Menos. One thing was certain about this stranger; he was overwhelmingly more powerful and skilled than herself.

Naruto, for his part, simply looked over to the group before speaking.

"I have many names. For now, I will tell you I am one who has lived in the shadows far too long." Naruto responded, before turning to Uryū.

"As for you Quincy, I hope you learned your lesson. Were it not for me, you could have gotten several people killed to satisfy your pride and thirst for revenge." Naruto said bluntly, causing the Quincy to flinch at the truth of his words.

Turning to look down at Uzume once more, he spoke one final time.

"We will meet again Uzume Kurosaki. Until then, I bid you farewell." Naruto said, before vanishing into a Shunpo.

As Rukia, Uzume, Konpa, and Uryū stared at the spot where he had stood, Kisuke spoke up.

"Well, that's enough excitement for one day I think. If you'll excuse me, I have some inventory to take. And by me, I mean Jinta." Kisuke said jovially, ignoring the indignant shout of 'Hey!' from Jinta.

* * *

**- Seireitei, six hours later-**

_CLACK CLACK CLACK_

"All captains of the 13 Court Guard Squads report to the Squad One barracks for a captains meeting." A female voice called clearly throughout the Seireitei.

* * *

_BANG_

"I call this captains meeting of the 13 Court Guard Squads into session." An aged, yet strong, male voice called out loudly.

It belonged to an old man, with a long white beard, held together by a black ribbon. His eyebrows were very long as well, and his eyes themselves squinted nearly shut. He was hunched, and wore a standard Soul Reaper uniform, with an overly-large white haori with a royal purple in inside on top.

The man was sitting in a straight-backed chair, with a wooden cane with a large knot on top, held in his hands.

The room around was a meeting hall of sorts, with a traditional Japanese design,, obvious from the rice-paper doors.

Standing in front of him, were two rows of people, each on either side of the room, facing each other. There were six people in each line.

Though their appearances varied greatly, they all shared the white haori with a pattern of black dots and slits, and the symbol of the 13 Court Guard Squads on the back, with different kanji numbers inside.

"One hour ago, the captain of Squad Two, Soifon, informed me of an unusual occurrence in the world of the living. Captain Soifon, report to the other captains what you told me!" The old man commanded.

A petite black-haired women stepped forward at this. Her hair was cut hime style in the front , with two long braids in the back, bound with cloth and with a ring at the ends. Her eyes were a piercing grey, and she wore the standard captain uniform, with a sleeveless white haori that had an orange inside, and black shihakushō. Around her waist was a yellow obi, and her Zanpakutō – which had a yellow hilt-cloth – hung from her lower back by a rope.

She had a very strong look to her, almost angry.

"Earlier today a team from the Patrol Corps that was sent to the World of the Living to discover the source of a sudden flood of hollows into Karakura Town. They came across something unexpected." She began, her voice clear and serious.

"They reported an unknown Soul Reaper, with a Zanpakutō as long as her body, forcing a Gillian class Menos Grande back to Hueco Mundo on her own. She is described as being young, with bright orange hair. Rukia Kuchiki, a member of Squad Thirteen, who has been on mission to the world of the living, longer than her mission state, was standing to the side, apparently in a gigai. It is the teams belief that she has given her powers to a human, as there was a human body looking just like the girl, that appeared to be using a Soul Candy." Soifon told them.

At this, there were many raised eyebrows, and a shocked look in the case of one captain, with long white hair.

"Gave her powers to a human? Are you sure?" The man questioned.

All he got was a fierce glare from the squad two captain.

"Of course, but that isn't the most important part. The next part, is the reason Head-Captain Yamamoto called this captains meeting." Soifon replied.

This gained the undivided attention of all the captains.

"What could be more important than such a serious law being broken?" Questioned one captain, who had a laid back appearance, with long brown hair, and stubble, wearing a pink kimono over his captains haori, and a straw hat on his head.

Soifon looked in his direction briefly before answering.

"Because while the apparent human was overcoming the cero, and forcing back that Menos, there were three others. A second unknown Soul Reaper – who wore a hood to keep his features hidden – appeared just as the first was forced back, and faced another that had begun charging a cero. he released his Zanpakutō, and proceeded to kill all three Menos with little effort. On top of this, they reported the same Soul Reaper killing multiple hollows all over town, all with ease, and without releasing his Zanpakutō until he faced the Menos." She finished.

If the reactions were surprised at hearing that Rukia had given her powers to a human, they were shocked at hearing about the mysterious hooded Soul Reaper.

"As you can see, with this information, it is imperative that this mystery be solved as soon as possible, so that we may determine if this man is a threat to the Soul Society." Head-Captain Yamamoto stated, as Soifon stepped back into line.

"Therefore, Central 46 has issued orders to resolve both situations. Captain of Squad Six, Byakuya Kuchiki!" Yamamoto called.

A black haired captain stepped forward at this. His long hair was arranged in two kenseikan, making three stands of hair travel across his face to the left, and the other making two point backwards. His eyes were narrow and grey, and he had an angular face. He wore a sleeveless captains haori, and a white scarf around his neck. On his wrists, he wore fingerless white tekkō that only covered the back of his hands.

"You and your lieutenant, Renji Abarai, are to go to the world of the living immediately, and capture Rukia Kuchiki, to be brought back for sentencing for her crimes." Yamamoto commanded.

The captain of squad six merely gave a nod, his face not showing an expression for a moment.

"Head-Captain, surely such actions aren't necessary? I know she committed a crime, but-" The white-haired captain began protested

_BANG_

The head-captains cane hitting the ground silenced his protest.

"This is the will of the Central 46, and is final. Now, also by order of Central 46, Squad Nine Lieutenant, Shūhei Hisagi, and Squad Three Lieutenant Izuru Kira, will be dispatched to track down and confront this mystery Soul Reaper, so that they may ascertain the scope of his abilities, how he came by them, and if he poses a threat to the Soul Society. That will be all!" Yamamoto said, with a final bang of his cane on the floor.

* * *

**-Urahara Shop, just after the Captains Meeting-**

Naruto sat across from Kisuke in his shop, having been called there a half hour ago. He had been asleep when the Hell Butterfly arrived.

Next to Kisuke, Yoruichi sat in cat form.

"Thanks for coming at such short notice. I'm afraid that we have a problem." Kisuke stated.

Upon hearing this, Naruto started to pay a lot more attention, because Kisuke was completely serious.

"This last battle was sure to have caught the attention of the 13Court Guard Squads. They will most likely be coming to retrieve Rukia, and probably send someone to investigate you as well." Kisuke informed him.

This statement caused Naruto to fall into deep thought, contemplating the events soon to unfold. After his performance against the Menos, they were sure to send a lieutenant at the least.

He was brought from his musing by Yoruichi speaking in the male voice of her cat form.

"That's not all." She said, gaining his attention.

"Tch, what else could there be?" He asked.

"We believe that this is somehow being orchestrated by Sosuke Aizen. He wants Rukia back in the Soul Society so he can obtain something from her." Yoruichi answered.

Naruto wrinkled his brow at this. It sounded like Aizen was going to show his colors soon.

"We have no hope of preventing her from being retrieved eventually, so the safest thing to do, is let her be captured, and then go into the Soul Society to rescue her, and expose Aizen. Most importantly, we need to prevent him from gaining the thing he wants from within her." Yoruichi told him.

At this, Naruto scowled. It sounded too much like Akatsuki being after him for his tastes.

"And just what is this 'thing' he wants?" Naruto asked.

Kisuke took out his fan at this, holding it in front of his face, as he replied.

"It's called the Hōgyoku. It's an item I invented accidently, while trying to increase a Soul Reapers powers. The Hōgyoku breaks down the border between Soul Reaper and Hollow, and allows a Soul Reaper to gain the powers of a hollow. or–" Kisuke was interrupted by Naruto.

"–or give a hollow the powers of a Soul Reaper, right?" Naruto asked, a picture beginning to form, and pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

"Correct. Anyways, I couldn't destroy the Hōgyoku, so I hid it, inside Rukia Kuchiki. Now Aizen has discovered this, and wants the Hōgyoku for himself, to complete the partial one he made himself." Kisuke informed him.

Seeing he still had the other blonds attention, he continued.

"I believe he is somehow influencing the Central 46, and will force an execution via Sōkyoku, a massive spear,, that pierces the soul of the victims, and contains the destructive force of a thousand Zanpakutō. This will burn away her soul, and allow him access to the Hōgyoku. We simply need to rescue her before or during the execution." Kisuke finished explaining.

Naruto sat in contemplation after this. He held his chin in his hand, as he thought over the problem. In the end, he had to agree that Kisuke's plan made the most sense.

"Very well. I'll be ready to take on the person, or persons, they send after me, and then I'll begin to master bankai, if you can provide me with a place to train in it. I'll be a part of the team to invade Soul Society." Naruto told them, getting relieved looks from them.

"Good. I'm going to train Yasatora Sado, and Orihime Inoue, to be able to help in the mission to the Soul Society." Yoruichi informed him.

Naruto gave a nod to this.

"And I intend to help Uzume unlock her own Soul Reaper powers." Kisuke informed him.

Once more, Naruto simply gave a nod, having already suspected Uzume had powers of her own.

"Good, now, about that place to train?"

* * *

**-Karakura High, next night, as school gets out-**

Naruto looked out the window, as class ended that day. All around, students were packing up to go home. It came as almost a sort of rumbling sensation, as if the air around him was vibrating.

"They're here." He said to himself.

"Huh, you say something Naruto-san?" A feminine voice asked from behind him.

Naruto turned to see Uzume looking at him with a curious gaze. He offered an 'eye-smile' in return, before answering.

"Oh nothing, I just remembered I need to go meet someone today. I should be going, or I might be late." Naruto told her.

Uzume gave him a slight smile in return. Naruto couldn't help a chuckle at this. Over the past month, he – or rather, his clone – had gotten to know Uzume allot better.

She was pretty smart, even if she lacked some common sense, and a case of rashness that lead to rushing into situations. Not that that was a bad thing, he himself was guilty of it in his youth. Still, she was very pleasant to be around.

"Well, see ya later." Naruto said with a wave.

_'So you've arrived have you? Very well, you ready for the biggest fight yet, Karasuba-chan?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

_'Oooo, yes Naruto-kun. This should be so much better than plain hollows, I can't wait to test ourselves against Soul Reapers, they're blood is sure to be more tasty than those low-level hollows!'_ Karasuba responded giddily.

_'We're not going to kill anyone from the Soul Society save the three captains we were informed of.' _Naruto told her, his tone admonishing.

_'I know, but I can still enjoy the taste of their blood !' _Karasuba answered in her usual bloodthirsty tone.

* * *

**-Near the river, just after school got out-**

The sun was low in the sky, as an set of traditional rice-paper doors appeared in thin air, they slowly opened with a 'clacking' sound, revealing a set of round doors of the same style, which opened as well. A light poured from the opening, with four figures silhouetted against the light were four figures.

They stepped forward, and the doors closed, then disappeared, showing the four clearly for the first time.

On the right, and closest to the center, stood the stoic form of Byakuya Kuchiki, without his captains haori.

Next to him, and the furthest to the right, was a tall tan Soul Reaper, with his red hair pulled into a spiky pineapple-style ponytail. He had a number of tattoo's visible, and a white bandana tied sideways on his forehead, with a pair of goggle-like sunglasses resting on top of his head.. At his waist was strapped a katana, with a jagged design on the rectangular guard.

On the other side of Byakuya, stood a third man, with blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair that was combed into three points, two in the back, and one in front to cover his left eye. Strapped to his waist was a katana with a rectangular guard with the design on an omega on the top and bottom half.

Finally, on the far left, stood a man with grey eyes, and short black hair, with three scars going down over his right eye and down to his chin, with a blue-striped tattoo running from his left cheek to across his nose, and the number '69' tattooed on his left cheek as well. He had a choker around his neck, and matching arm bands on his upper arms. His Soul Reaper top had the sleeves removed, and strapped to his side was a katana with an octangular guard.

"You have your orders." Byakuya stated.

Without a word, the four disappeared using Shunpo.

* * *

**-Hill overlooking Karakura, near midnight, with Naruto-**

Naruto waited silently on top of a hill staring down over Karakura Town. It was near a cemetery. He was waiting for those looking for him to appear, he had been fluctuating his spiritual pressure for the past half hour. He was eager to get this over with, and go to back up Uzume, who would undoubtedly go to help Rukia.

He heard a whisper, as if of a light wind behind him.

"So, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you to show. Let's get this over with." Naruto spoke in a bored voice, as he turned to face behind him.

Standing there, were two of the men he sensed before, one with blond hair, the other with black hair.

"I see, so the group with the captain is going after Rukia Kuchiki. That was a mistake, if your mission is to fight me." Naruto said, making the two tense.

It wasn't exactly a taunt, but it felt like he was saying he was stronger than both put together. What was really unnerving, was he knew why the other two were there, and that they were there in the first place.

"My Name is Naruto Uzumaki, what are yours?" He asked, as if he hadn't just said he was stronger than him.

His calm demeanor was unnerving the two lieutenants. He was obviously not worried in the slightest about losing.

"My name is Izuru Kira, Lieutenant of Squad Three of the 13 Court Guard Squads." The blond stated.

"And I am Sh hei Hisagi, Lieutenant of Squad Nine." Shūhei told him.

Naruto smiled at their introductions. He got the lieutenants to two of the men planning to betray the Soul Society, and who were responsible for framing Kisuke and Tessai.

"Squads Three and Nine you say? That would make your captains Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tōsen correct?" Naruto asked

Hearing that he knew their captains names, the two tensed further. It wasn't exactly a hidden topic, but since he had never been to Soul Society to their knowledge, it was strange for him to know it.

"We have orders to ascertain your power level, and how you came to possess Soul Reaper powers, and whether they pose a threat to the Soul Society. Of course, if you come with us quietly, there's no need for the first part." Izuru stated.

Naruto gained thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, a threat. I suppose to certain members of the Soul Society, I pose a threat. For instance, your Central 46. The 13 Court Guard Squads may obey them, but I bow my head to no king, and certainly not to a bunch of narrow-minded fools, who are quick to judge others, and forget that they are merely heralds, not royal themselves." Naruto told them.

At this, their eyes widened in shock. They had never heard someone speaking about Central 46 like that. It would be considered tantamount to questioning the Soul King.

"Very well, and where did you come by your powers?" Izuru asked, remembering they're orders.

"I got them from within myself, and with the help of a humble shopkeeper." Naruto answered with a grin.

Internally, he was going over his battle plan. He didn't want to reveal too many of his skills. It would be better if the Soul Society didn't know the full scope of his abilities. He knew he could take a normal captain easy, but if they knew he could dispose of these two easily, they would send _two_ captains after him when they entered Soul Society.

_'So that means we're limited to using only the techniques they might have seen when I fought the Menos, as well as my speed and strength.' _ Naruto analyzed.

_'What's more, I need to conserve energy for facing the captain, who I will have to do the same thing against. Very well, it's decided. I'll limit my strength to that of a captain under a Gentei Reiin.' _ Naruto concluded.

While Naruto was plotting a strategy, the lieutenants couldn't help but sweat drop at the answer. The first part was obvious, and the second was plain unhelpful.

"Now, let's get to the part where you assess my power level. Bur prepared, for my Zanpakutō thirsts for your blood." Naruto said.

In a flash of steel, all three men had drawn their Zanpakutō. In a blur of speed, Naruto rushed the two lieutenants.

_'He's so fast! I haven't seen anyone this fast except a captain!'_ Izuru thought.

Naruto appeared in front of Shūhei, going for a slash. The Lieutenant of Squad Nine managed to bring his blade up in time, but he nearly buckled at the strength behind it.

He noted that the hooded mans eyes were now blood red, with three tomoe marks spinning around his pupils.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto noticed a flash of steel.

He immediately flash stepped away, stopping a few yards away. A sound of ripping cloth was heard, and a grunt released.

There was now a cut in the upper arm of Izuru.

_Even when he was dodging, he managed to make an attack.'_ He thought.

As soon as he appeared, Naruto started forward once more. He came in with an downward slash towards Izuru. The slash was blocked. Undeterred, he brought his leg up into Izuru's guard, kicking him away as he turned to block the attack directed at his back.

The next few minutes, were a flurry of slashing, parrying, and dodging. Shūhei and Izuru gained a number of small cuts, but Naruto remained untouched.

However, he was starting to get annoyed. Despite the difference in physical strength, and his speed, the two managed to work together well enough that he couldn't take advantage of openings. If he were going all out, they wouldn't be doing nearly so well.

"That's it. I wanted to beat you without revealing too much, but that isn't possible now." Naruto growled.

This fight couldn't last long, he needed to conserve energy in case he had to clash with the captain.

"**Hadō # 58: Tenran!**" Naruto called, holding out his palm towards them.

A huge tornado of wind blasted forth, surprising the two men, and knocking the wind from their lungs, carrying them at least a dozen yards backwards.

Naruto stood straight, holding his Zanpakutō out in front of him horizontally in his left hand. He gave them a stare that made them feel he was looking right through him, combined with the red eyes, it was very intimidating, as an aura of grey reiatsu surrounded him.

". . . .**Witness Hell, Karasuba!**" Naruto called out.

His Zanpakutō was enveloped in a flash of black light. The aura of reiatsu around him exploded, making it seem he was enveloped in a translucent grey inferno. It brought with it a crushing feeling of dread.

The Zanpakutō that was revealed once the light dissipated, was much longer, becoming a nodachi, with a slightly wider blade, and the back edge being darker than the front, almost black. It's guard had changed to a plain lobed style, with a design of two spread crows wings on either side of the guard, with the tips of the wings pointing the same way as the sharp half.

"Th-this reiatsu , it's as strong as a captains. And it's so crushing, it fills me with dread." Izuru stuttered.

Naruto stood there with the same look, staring right through them.

"You had better release your Zanpakutō, because if you don't, you will hold no chance of victory." Naruto told them coldly.

To prove his point, he decided to unleash his destructive shikai technique.

"**Seishin Senkō!**"(2) He yelled, as he slashed his Zanpakutō through the air, releasing a familiar crescent of reiryoku, that was twice as long as his body.

It flew towards the two lieutenants at astonishing speeds, forcing them to block the attack with their blades.

As the attack made contact with his blade, Shūhei's eyes widened in shock. In the millisecond this happened, he immediately flash stepped out of the way, with Izuru following at almost the exact same time, confused at the reaction of his friend.

"Why did we dodge Shūhei? We block Kidō attacks in a pinch, why not that?" Izuru asked in confusion.

His question went unanswered for a moment, as Shūhei stared intensely at Naruto, who looked back with a slight smirk.

"Look closely at your Zanpakutō's blade." Shūhei told him, not taking his eyes off Naruto for a second.

Still confused, Izuru did as suggested, and looked at his blade. It only took him a moment to notice what had caused his friends reaction.

"I-impossible! just from that brief contact?" He gasped.

Shūhei nodded grimly to his friends question.

"That's right, even from that brief millisecond of contact, his attack began cutting through our blades. If we had stood still, our Zanpakutō's, and possibly us, would have been cut in half." Shūhei concluded, for on each of their blades, there was a small nick on the sharp edge, barely a couple millimeters at most.

But still, to cut a Zanpakutō like that, took an untold amount of cutting power. Only an attack with an overwhelming reiatsu could do that, like the captain of Squad Eleven.

"So now you realize, what you face. Seishin Senkō, it's an attack that can cut through almost anything. It can be used simply as an extra cutting power to the blade, or, as you just experienced, a projectile." Naruto explained.

His tone was deadly serious, imparting on them a feeling of dread, just like his reiatsu upon the swords release.

"As I said, release your shikai, because if you don't, you will find yourselves overwhelmed by a Zanpakutō of unimaginable ability and power." Naruto stated once more.

It didn't really take any thought. The comment was unnecessary, as they could already tell that to not release them, would likely result in their deaths. Although, the comment about unimaginable ability and power was confusing.

From what they could tell, his Zanpakutō was a melee, like Shūhei's Zanpakutō. But from the comment, it made it seem that there was more to it than that.

"**Raise Your Head, Wabisuke!**" Izuru called.

His Zanpakutō straightened, and became black at the back edge. It then kinked twice, making two ninety-degree angles, giving it a hooked appearance.

"**Reap, Kazeshini!**" Shūhei muttered in the same serious, almost depressing tone of voice.

His Zanpakutō split, becoming two double sided sickles, connected by a chain. the blades were set so that one side had the sharp part facing up, and the other down. It was all black, save the sharp parts, which were silver.

Naruto smirked at the sight of the blades.

"Those are only the second and third shikai I've seen, that isn't Karasuba. I must admit, they look interesting, especially yours." Naruto said, looking to Shūhei at the end.

"Really, because I'm not too fond of it. Look at it, like it's made for reaping lives. I follow my captains path you see, the one of least bloodshed." Shūhei stated, before launching one of the blades forward, spinning through the air like a buzz saw.

Naruto's smirk disappeared at this comment, as he casually knocked the blade aside with his own. He looked at Shūhei with a critical gaze.

"Not found of your Zanpakutō? Simply because of its nature? What a childish notion." Naruto replied, gaining a glare from Shūhei.

"Don't look at me like that boy. Your Zanpakutō is born from a part of your soul, it is a part of you, a representation of part of your personality. By denying that part of you, you make yourself weak." Naruto stated.

Shūhei's eyes widened, as Naruto casually reached behind himself, and caught his Zanpakutō by the staff part of it, not even tuning to look to catch it.

"So long as you deny your Zanpakutō's nature, and are in conflict with yourself, you can never defeat me." The hooded man told him coldly.

Naruto launched the blade back at its owner, forcing him to dodge to the side, and catch it by its handle.

Izuru, watched the conversation unfold with mixed feelings. On one hand, Shūhei was his friend. On the other, he couldn't help but agree with the mystery man. Part of being a Soul Reaper, was forming a synergistic unit with the Zanpakutō. It was impossible if he was constantly at odds with his Zanpakutō's nature.

He saw Shūhei's eyes widen in shock at the declaration, and couldn't help but believe it was possibly for the best.

Still, he decided that it was time he got involved in the battle.

"Shūhei!" He said sharply, gaining the attention of his comrade.

Izuru gave him a nod. Understanding, Shūhei launched his blade once more.

As the blade came towards him, Naruto's vision was blocked of anything behind it. Thus, he wasn't expecting it when he deflected it once more, only to have Izuru appear right behind it.

Their blades met with the ringing of clashing steel. Izuru tried for a downward slash, which Naruto blocked.

Nevertheless, Izuru was relentless. In a flash, they exchanged strikes, with Izuru being kept back by Karasuba's superior length. Naruto used this to his advantage, adding numerous more small cuts to Izuru. Still, any serious attacks were caught in the hook of Wabisuke's blade.

Izuru was so relentless, he was surprised when the other blond disengaged, falling back a few meters.

Naruto looked at his Zanpakutō strangely. During the engagement, it seemed to get increasingly hard to maneuver Karasuba.

_'What the hell? I know I'm not getting tired, so why is i becoming harder to wield her?'_ He wondered.

"I imagine that you're wondering why your Zanpakutō is getting harder to swing. Than answer is, that's Wabisuke's power. It doubles the weight of anything it strikes." Izuru explained.

Naruto didn't have long to ponder this statement, as he saw Shūhei's hand twitch. That was the only warning he got.

In an instant, he flash stepped to the side, barely missing being struck with Kazeshini.

Just as he emerged from the speed technique, Naruto's eyes widened, as Izuru was in front of him again.

He began dodging and weaving frenziedly, trying to avoid being hit. Naruto didn't want to gain any more weight.

Left, right, duck, slash, parry. The pattern continued, with him trying to get a shot in when he could, only to stop when Izuru made to block.

That's when he saw Kazeshini's blade come spinning at him. He was forced to duck. It was the opening Izuru needed, or so he thought. Izuru flash stepped behind him, sword posed to cut

"This is it." Izuru said, his sword descending to cut Naruto.

Time seemed to slow for Naruto, as he entered a familiar state of hypersensitivity. Everything was clear, every smell, touch taste, sound. Most prevalent was his heartbeat.

_BUM-BUMP_

The sword inched closer, as he smelled the rusty smell of the blood from the two Soul Reapers wounds.

"You're right, it is over. . ." Naruto muttered, confusing Izuru. It was too late to pull back now.

_BUM-BUMP_

_'Dammit, I didn't want to reveal more, but. . . I can't get injured.'_ Naruto thought, as the blade got ever closer.

_BUM-BUMP_

"**. . . . Kushizashi . . ." **Naruto said softly.

The blade was just an inch from him, as Izuru suddenly seized up in pain. It felt like he was being stabbed by hundreds of knives, the white-hot pain burning across his body, as he felt the sensation of his flesh being pierced. The worst part, was that they happened all at once.

"GYAAAAAHH!" He shouted in agony, back arching in pain.

Naruto stood up, spinning as he did, his blade swinging through the air with him. He finally stopped, standing stationary behind the blond lieutenant. The immortal still stood, hunched slightly, arm extended with blade in hand.

Izuru felt the pain of the knives fade, only to be replaced by a blinding white-hot stinging pain across his torso. He looked down in shock as a large, _very _deep wound, opened up, spraying blood across the ground. The lieutenant collapsed forward, as his Zanpakutō reverted to its sealed form.

_'What just happened?' _Izuru wondered, as he struggled to stay conscious.

Naruto stood straight, feeling the weight lifted, and flicked the blood from Karasuba, as it reverted to its sealed form. With a resounding _click_ he sheathed it.

He then turned to Shūhei.

"I suggest you get him back to the Soul Society. I purposefully avoided killing him, or cutting anything vital, it would take him several hours to bleed out." Naruto said.

Shūhei gritted his teeth, but nodded none the less.

Naruto nodded in return, before disappearing with a Shunpo. He had succeeded, they didn't get any more than three techniques from him. The immortal left without a single scratch on him.

* * *

**Chapter End**

**AN/ Ok, chapter three down. I hope you liked the fight scene, please review with your opinion, I'd really like any tips if you think it could be improved.**

**Now, onto news. First, as stated at the beginning, please review with opinions on the pairing situation.**

**Next, is the reason I decided to do the fight scene to the end. I originally wanted to end it at the part where Naruto released Karasuba, but decided against it. This is because I am going to take a step back from focusing on this story. **

**I've had some ideas floating in my head for a while now, and they won't leave me alone, so I don't want to force this story, when I really want to work on something else. It might be a month, or maybe longer, before I get back to this story, it depends.**

**As stated, please review,**

**Until next time(or the next story),**

**That's all for now folks!**

**1: Kushizashi - Piercing**

**2: Seishin Senkō - Spirit Piercer**


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